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Susi may not conform to style, but she means business
Susi Pudjiastuti
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Susi Pudjiastuti. JP/ Jerry Adiguna
In terms of background and appearance, newly elected Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, 49, breaks all the rules and stereotypes of the largely pretentious Cabinet.
Susi is a tattooed high-school drop-out and a chain smoker who sparks up anytime, anyplace.
Unlike other female ministers, Susi is an adventurer who loves exploring the harsh frontiers of the archipelago.
Since her announcement as minister on Sunday, social media has been abuzz with talk of her maverick credentials and her laidback, no-nonsense attitude.
Many have criticized her for smoking in a corner of the Presidential Palace's lawn after being inaugurated as minister on Monday. Many conservative Muslims on social media have also condemned her displayed tattoos.
But Susi was unnerved by all the fuss, although a bit irritated by the commotion surrounding her background and attitude.
'I don't understand the fuss. I just want to work. I don't want to be disturbed,' she said on Tuesday.
In her first press conference on Sunday evening, she pledged that she meant business, and that it would not be business as usual once she took office.
She also warned anyone against trying to bribe her.
'I cannot be bribed,' she claimed.
Susi, who has 33 years of experience in the fisheries sector as a businesswoman, said she would use her business experience for the development of the country's fisheries.
'The fisheries sector has huge untapped potential. It's like a mouse dying of hunger in a barn full of rice,' she said.
On her first day in office on Tuesday, Susi ordered all civil servants at the ministry to be at the
office no later than 7 a.m. and to return home no later than 4 p.m. as of Nov. 1. Her reason for the change is to avoid rush-hour traffic jams.
She has pledged to crack down on illegal fishing, provide more soft-loans to fishermen and educate them on how to run a business.
Susi's appointment cannot be taken lightly. Her ministry will function as the backbone of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's plans to restore Indonesia to the status of a maritime power, a game-changing policy that could define his administration.
Few doubt her work ethic, commitment or credentials. Susi is a street-smart businesswoman who embarked on her first commercial venture as a teenager in Pangandaran, West Java ' regency bordered by the sea.
Her father was a landlord and could afford to send to Susi to a high school in Yogyakarta. However, she was dismissed from the school for refusing to cast her ballot (Golput) in a legislative election in the early 1980s.
She then decided to start out her own business.
After a shaky start with a number of businesses, Susi launched a daring venture opening airline routes to remote places in Papua, Kalimantan and Aceh, earning her the title 'Queen of the Frontier'.
In fact, she is better known for her association with the aviation business than for her fisheries ventures.
PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation (Susi Air) has gradually developed into an important domestic carrier in Indonesia.
In the beginning, the air carrier ' with its two light aircraft ' was operated only to support Susi's fishery business. But now, with a fleet of nearly 50 aircraft, the carrier has become an important charter airline operator providing services in many parts of the country.
'I never planned to run an aviation company. What could a woman who had only been educated up to the second year of high school do? Aviation was not something I ever thought about,' she said.
'I finally turned to the aviation industry because my fishing business in Pangandaran needed fast and reliable transportation. I was struggling to keep my fish and lobsters alive and fresh for customers in Singapore and Hong Kong.'
Susi bought two Cessna Caravan in 2004, but shortly after the planes arrived, a tsunami hit Aceh, the day after Christmas in late 2004.
Susi Air became the first plane to land in Aceh, in Simeleu and Meulaboh, just a few days after the tsunami.
After Aceh, Susi bought one new aircraft in 2006, having earned enough money for the expansion from chartering out the aircraft to foreign NGOs throughout 2005.
Susi entered the Papuan market that year, followed by Kalimantan in 2007. In Papua, the main base is in Sentani while in Kalimantan she has a base in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.
'Now, we fly to many points across the country from Aceh to Papua. We transport anyone and anything, from the distribution of raskin [rice for the poor] to senior government officials,' said Susi, who has three children and one grandchild from her two marriages.
