RIP Mooryati Soedibyo, founder of Mustika Ratu
Jakarta, IO – The founder of a prestigious company that makes beauty care products, Mustika Ratu Mooryati Soedibyo, died at the age of 96 on Wednesday at 01.00 WIB.
The presenter, who was the Indonesian Ambassador to New Zealand, Tantowi Yahya, conveyed the sad news in a post on his Instagram account, @tantowiyahyaofficial, Wednesday, April 24.
“Has passed away to HIS bosom, Mrs. DR.H.BRA. Mooryati Soedibyo on Wednesday, April 24, at 01.00 WIB in the morning at the age of 96 years (January 5, 1928 – April 24, 2024). Innalillahiwainnailaihirojiun,” wrote Tantowi in a post on his Instagram account as quoted by Antara.
“Goodbye, Mrs. Moor. I hope that all of your good deeds and kindness during your life will make it easier for you to return to HIS bosom. I testify that you are a good person who has done a lot for this nation,” he said.
Tantowi remembers Mooryati as a visionary businesswoman. Tantowi also said that the herbal medicine she concocted had provided many benefits for people’s health and made Indonesia proud abroad.
Mooryati Soedibyo’s body was released militarily to the family cemetery at the Mustika Ratu Traditional Medicine Nursery Park, Tapos, Ciawi, Wednesday.
The Mooryati family, represented by their eldest son, Djoko Ramiadji, handed over the body of the founder of Mustika Ratu to the government.
Wiranto, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council (Wantimpres) received the body of Mooryati Soedibyo during this moment of military release. Mooryati’s daughter, Putri Kus Wisnu Wardani, is a member of the Watimpres.
At the moment the body was released, Mooryati Soedibyo’s son, Djoko Ramiadji, conveyed beautiful memories about his mother. Before she died, Mooryati received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Thailand’s First Lady Pakpilai Thaivisin in March 2024.
According to Djoko, when she received the award from Thailand, his mother was lying ill. “Even though she was lying ill, her eyes were sparkling,” he recalled.
During her life, Mooryati Soedibyo secured many awards. Apart from the Lifetime Achievement Award from Thailand, Mooryati also received Upakarti and Kalpataru from the Indonesian government.
She was Deputy Chair II of the People’s Consultative Assembly for the 2004-2009 period, President Director of Mustika Ratu, and one of the originators of the idea of the Miss Indonesia election contest which was held every year. Mooryati was recorded by MURI as the oldest recipient of a doctorate in Indonesia, and as “Master of Herbal Medicine”. She was also ranked number 7 in the 2007 list of the 99 most influential women in Indonesia, according to Globe Asia magazine.
The granddaughter of Sri Susuhunan Pakoe Boewono X Keraton Surakarta is famous for everything related to beauty, traditional herbal medicine and the palace environment.
Since the age of three, she lived at the Surakarta Palace, which is known as a source of Javanese culture. At the palace, she received a traditional education that emphasized etiquette, classical dance, fine arts, batik, ngadi saliro ngadi busono, getting to know the nutritious plants, concocting herbal medicine and traditional cosmetics from natural ingredients, Javanese literary language, songs with mocopat style, old Javanese script, and other fields of art.
In 1973, Mooryati’s hobby of drinking herbal medicine, which she had been doing since she was young, finally developed into a business. The herbal medicine recipe from the Surakarta Palace, which was originally given to her friends, finally became a for-profit enterprise. Its products were soon exported to approximately 20 countries, including Russia, the Netherlands, Japan, South Africa, the Middle East, Malaysia and Brunei.
Its range has also expanded to 800 products, starting from toddler, general, super and premium. Products are aimed at parents to teenage daughters.
In 1992 she launched Puteri Indonesia, which she developed after watching the Miss Universe event in Bangkok in May 1992. Mooryati, who often visited abroad to hold seminars, exhibitions and even her own presentations, expressed the desire to create a Puteri Indonesia event.
From here arose her desire to make Indonesian women confident in appearing internationally. This had previously been pioneered by Andi Nurhayati, who from the ‘70s to the early ‘80s was the holder of an international class Miss-Miss delivery franchise, as well as the name of Femina magazine, which had for years previously held the selection of Indonesian Teenage Girls, which delivered the most energetic, intelligent and modern girls in Indonesia.
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Then she took the idea to the National Export Development Agency, and it was approved. She eventually formed the Puteri Indonesia Foundation and became General Chair. But the Miss Indonesia Election event was not fully approved by the public. It has even become a source of contention to this day.
Mooryati succeeded in holding the Miss Indonesia Election event for the sixth time. And it was on hiatus for 3 years (1997, 1998, 1999) and in 2021 because conditions and the situation in the country made it impossible, namely, the monetary crisis and COVID-19.
Thank you for all you’ve done, Mrs. Mooryati. May you rest in peace. (rp)
