Indonesians in Focus: Charles Saerang

By Barrie | September 30th, 2007 | No Comments

When Charles Saerang returned from the U.S. in 1976 to join Nyonya Meneer in Semarang, he bore in mind the old Chinese saying about family business: The first generation builds the company, the second develops it and the third destroys it.

However, in the 30 years or so he has been working for Nyonya Meneer, Charles, a grandson of Lau Ping Nio alias Nyonya Meneer, has battled a host of internal conflicts to keep the company afloat.

And, the result?

Nyonya Meneer, which prides itself of being a producer of priyayi or royal jamu, has not only survived but also grown to become one of the biggest jamu or herbal tonic producers in the country, with annual sales of almost Rp 500 billion (US$56 million).

The company currently employs 3,000 people, half of whom are factory workers. The others are in the medicinal plants and marketing departments.

It has also penetrated markets in 12 foreign countries, including the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Singapore and China.

“It is because I have a strong commitment and vision for this business,” said Charles, the chief executive officer of Nyonya Meneer, during an interview recently.

Now, the father of Vanessa Kalani Ong and Claudia Alan Ong, has embarked on a more ambitious project — shaking off jamu’s image as an unhygienic traditional remedy in order to put it on a par with herbal medicines from other countries such as China or Malaysia.

“Jamu is a national asset, but unfortunately the government has not made integrated efforts to promote it. Each related ministry goes on its own way with no short-term or long term programs for the development of jamu,” he said.

There are around 1,300 jamu producers in the country, including some 120 small-scale, home-based producers. With no government intervention, they have been left to their own devices, some using artificial ingredients in their products.

“We believe the actual consumption of 100 percent herbal jamu is between Rp 3.5 and Rp 4 trillion, while the remainder is artificially enhanced jamu,” he said.

“We have to change the image of jamu, which has always been associated with the poor,” said Charles, who graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, the U.S.

“In order to change jamu’s image, we have to do a lot of research on the efficacy of each medicinal plant that is a raw material of jamu,” said the husband of Lindawaty Suryadinata.

“If we look at China, where jamu has been produced since the 15th and 16th centuries, they have education programs. We don’t have education programs for jamu. Research is essential in the jamu industry. Without research the industry won’t grow.”

To pursue his goal, Charles, who loves jogging, going to the gym and playing golf, has lobbied the related ministries and is working together with scientific institutions to research, test and create new jamu products.

His hard work seems to be paying off. The Research and Technology Ministry and the association of jamu producers have agreed to set up a fully equipped center for the cultivation of high efficacy medicinal plants.

“I hope this program will proceed smoothly because we are working with the Health Ministry. The efficacy, benefits, toxicity and water content of medicinal plants need to be tested by the ministry. We will also encourage scientists to help,” said Charles, who was born in Semarang, Central Java, on Feb. 20, 1952.

According to Charles, Indonesia has to focus its research on five medicinal plants, the first being temulawak (Curcuma xanthorrizha).

“Almost 70 percent of the over 1,200 jamu producers in the country use temulawak as their main raw material,” he said.

Temulawak is believed to have three effects: helping the consumer sleep soundly, increasing the appetite and improving the digestive process.

Temulawak has different qualities and 23 properties that need careful examination. The latest information about temulawak is that it can also eliminate dandruff, reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure.

The second medicinal plant that need to be developed, Charles says, is ginger (Zingiber officinale). “There are 30,000 species of ginger, but we have managed to utilize some 600 species for herbal medicine,” Charles said.

Other medicinal plants that have to be examined, according to Charles, are pegagan or button grass (Cetella asiatica), sambiloto or green chireta (Andrographis paniculata nees) and kencur (Lesser Galangale).

Pegagan is believed to be able to reduce blood pressure, while sambiloto is good for intestinal cancer and kencur helps soothe sore throats.

“It’s possible there are other benefits we are not yet aware of, because there is no coordination between researchers in academic circles, businesspeople and the government,” Charles said.

The herbal medicine market currently stands at around US$60 billion per year, with Indonesia accounting for $800 million only, compared to Malaysia’s $1.2 billion and China’s $20 billion.

Charles is optimistic that despite its abject image, jamu has a bright future, thanks to the sudden shift to a “back-to-nature” lifestyle.

Around 80 percent of Indonesia’s 220 million people, according to Charles, have in one way or another tried jamu with an annual sales volume of not more than Rp 8 trillion.

“More and more people look for products that have few or no artificial ingredients. Organic food, for example, is gaining popularity across the world,” Charles said.

Kanis Dursin