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Susi Pudjiastuti: I don't think i'm Crazy  

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19 October 2018 18:42 WIB

Susi Pudjiastuti, the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Tempo/Dian Triyuli Handoko

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The newly appointed minister for maritime affairs and fisheries appeared in casual clothes, although she wore a long skirt down to her ankles. She admits to dressing more than she ever did before embarking on her new job. "I must now wear clothing that covers the tattoo on my leg," she said, in explaining her sartorial change. Some things do not change however, as she still insists on wearing 10-centimeter high-heeled shoes and wedges.

Susi is indeed a refreshing change in a society that usually demands protocol and correctness from officialdom and the elite. Yet she has inspired others to be true to one's own self and be proud of it. Just before the ceremony to announce President Joko Widodo's new cabinet members, Susi was approached by Rosita Barack, wife of politician Surya Paloh, who told her, "Ibu Susi, you rock. I really like your tattoos and I have some too." In fact, Susi's tattoo is an image of a flaming bird snaking up her leg, something she acquired when she was 27 years old.

She cares little for the public furor over her tattoo, preferring to focus on her new responsibilities, which range from dealing with illegal fishing by foreign boats to improving the welfare of fishermen, particularly when the government withdraws its fuel subsidy. Last week she spared some of her hectic time to be interviewed by Tempo journalists Arif Zulkifli, Agustina Widiarsi, Heru Triyono and Pingit. Excerpts:

What has changed since you became minister? 

My appearance has changed. Before, I would dress up only for special events, maybe once every three years. Now I must attend many [official] functions, so I must powder my nose more often.

Does a CEO dress differently from a government minister? 

I must wear a long dress these days.

Are you bothered by the ruckus over your tattoo and your smoking?. 

Yes, a bit. I worry about the 'Ibu-ibu' (ladies) who sends me text messages, saying: "Please Ibu, my daughter is one of your fans and I worry that she might start smoking like you." I get about 2,000 text messages a day. Some are very supportive and motivate me but I worry about those ladies.

Do you feel you have lost some of your freedom? 

I feel I've lost some speed, the freedom to move fast.

Is it true the reason some people objected to your appointment as minister was because Susi Air took many photographs of forests and marine areas in Indonesia? 

We were hired to map areas in Sulawesi, Papua, the Arafura Sea, Kalimantan and other places. That made me notices many things.

So, you know much about illegal fishing?

Of course, I do.

Are you able to have access to what the cameras recorded?

I keep copies. They were taken aboard Susi Air. I have seen a lot more than other people, not just illegal fishing. I've also seen illegal logging.

Who uses those services?

The government, mining companies and banks, to verify the size and measurement of land areas. The cameras can cover 2.5 square kilometers of land. People lying on the beach could be photographed. Nothing can be covered up.

You have also been accused of being pro-foreigners.

Yes, there was an open letter by Riza Damanik (an activist for fishermen's rights) who said my husband was a foreigner and that many of my employees were also expatriates. And from that people conclude I'm a stooge of foreigners. Well, being a foreign stooge to foreigners for the benefit of the country, I see nothing wrong with that. Who is more nationalistic: a 'bule' (slang word for foreigner) boss overseeing Indonesian coolies or an Indonesian boss whose coolies are 'bule'?

What was President Jokowi looking for when he took you on?

He told me, "Ibu Susi, this country needs a mad person," and I told him, Bapak, you're getting one.

Is it true that you were initially asked to find a candidate for a maritime affairs and fisheries minister?

The palace was having a hard time finding a fisheries minister. I was asked to help and I replied, "Okay, I will ask Pak Sarwono [Kusumaatmadja]." Apparently Sarwono declined, saying he was too old. In fact, he sang Siapa Suruh Datang ke Jakarta (Who Told You to go to Jakarta) jokingly to me. And in the end, I was the one who was summoned to meet the president. I then asked 'Ibu' what she thought, and she told me, "Go ahead." So I did.

Who do you mean by Ibu?

Ibu Megawati. I asked whether I should go [to Jakarta] or not.

Many people worry that as minister as well as CEO of ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Products you will face conflict-of-interest problems.

Of course I will 'pitch' my success story at Susi Air and Susi Marine as a way of overcoming problems of marketing marine products from small islands. And that's to use planes which has been done by Susi Air all this time as the cheapest way to market products harvested by fishermen living in remote islands. Building harbors is expensive, it can run into hundreds of billions of rupiah. Creating a simple airport in Papua costs only Rp3 billion.

Two days on the job and you're already announcing a moratorium on issuing licenses to fishing vessels.

That's what I asked, to stop everything first, put the management in order. I want to improve the data on vessel registration. The airline industry is clear on who owns the airlines, what type of craft, where and when it was manufactured. Everything is out in the open. Why not apply similar methods to our fishing vessels? That was the first question I asked when I started on the job.

Are you saying vessel registration in Indonesia is not serious?

Never, because they are all fakes. The owners don't want to lose ownership of their boats because they want to keep on catching fish in our waters.

So why the moratorium?

Illegal fishing. This is a big problem. Besides the huge numbers of illegal vessels, there are some which are in a grey area. For example, a vessel would have a license but it uses banned equipment to catch the fish. These methods show that about 67 percent among the 5,000 vessels are not registered. (*)

Read the full interview in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine



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