Dewi Hughes

The Jakarta Post   |  Wed, 01/23/2008 3:06 PM  |  Firm Favourites

Although recent years have not been easy for educator-cum-entertainer Dewi Hughes she is now enjoying married life with second husband Roy Immanuel. One of the few large women in the public eye, Hughes says she is making changes for the better. Among them is giving up the frustration of the commute to and from the suburbs for the convenience of a Central Jakarta apartment. She also is continuing with her efforts to empower women and children, including through a new venture of e-home schooling, and taking small steps on the road to better health.   

HEALTH
After many years, I finally realized how important health is. It’s dangerous when you are 36 years old and overweight. I read more and more about health issues in books and magazines, and it scares me. I started walking in the morning and, after two months, I can see a difference; I can walk faster. My husband says it’s important to laugh and sing, too, because health is in the mind.

FRUIT
I’m on a program where in the morning I only eat fruit and salad. It’s good that we are staying here because we get to have the breakfast buffet with all the salad and fruit.

CELL PHONE
A cell phone is like a husband; you need to sleep with it close to you and plug it in to keep it on, otherwise you will get lost!  It’s your friend when you don’t want to talk to somebody, or you can play games on it when you are waiting. This is a pretty old model, but I don’t want to get a new one because I am used to the keyboard.

FRIENDS
My friends, like Rina Gunawan and Teddy Syah, have children, so I can borrow their kids to go swimming! You are not lonely when you have good friends. I’m not one of those people who has a handful of very close friends; I have a big group who I can call on when I need them, even if it’s just to borrow a suitcase when I’m going abroad.

HATS
I’ve loved hats for a long time; they make me feel sexy. I even bought hats when I went to Mecca. I used to have a big collection, but now I just have a few that I wear.

TURBAN
I call this my personal branding. When I decided to stop wearing the turban after I took off my headscarf, people started semicomplaining, “You can remove your headscarf, but keep your turban on”. People didn’t recognize me when I wasn’t wearing my turban.

TV
I don’t like watching TV. But when I need to watch TV, I bring my small one with me and watch my films. It also has a karaoke that I use to learn songs.

MONEY
I sound so commercial! It’s not that money is God, but even when you have a credit card, you have to pay eventually. With money, you can help empower others.

JEWELRY
I noticed this bracelet on my first meeting with Roy; it’s very Balinese and made from rare wood. He said, “Do you like it? It’s yours.” I was like, wow, because no man had given me jewelry before. On my second meeting with him, he wore this necklace and I said, “That’s very beautiful.” It was from his grandfather, and it’s very old. I kept on commenting on it, and eventually he gave it to me. This ring is our wedding ring, it has an Indian-style engraving. I never wore a watch, but Roy gave this to me; I started wearing it after keeping it for a year.

+ Bruce Emond

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