In the annals of Indonesian political history, there has never been a minister quite like Susi Pudjiastuti. As the archipelago nation’s minister of marine resources and fisheries, she is almost universally beloved by supporters across the political spectrum, from right-wing nationalists (who love the way she protects the country’s maritime borders from illegal fishing vessels – often in explosive fashion) and environmentalists such as Leonardo DiCaprio (for her ceaseless push for sustainability and innovations).
And while some conservative commentators criticized the political outsider early on in her ministerial career for trivial matters like her tattoos or smoking habit, her undeniably effective leadership has essentially silenced the naysayers and given her the freedom to be what she truly is – a rock star.
Rockstar @susipudjiastuti moshpit bersama staff @kkpgoid di atas KM Kelud pic.twitter.com/m4LX8fLjIE
— FF (@nrg07) July 21, 2017
That video, recorded last Friday, shows Susi stage diving into a mosh pit made up of members of her ministry aboard the KM Kelud during a retreat program. While the start of her stage dive is a little shaky (we’re guessing not many members of her staff had been in a mosh pit before) we can’t think of any other Indonesian politician, except for perhaps President Joko Widodo, who could pull off such a feat (we’d guess most members of the DPR would get dropped like stones if they tried to stagedive…).
That wasn’t the only moment of Susi’s supreme free-spiritness on the KM Kelud that went viral. This video of her dancing along to the Beatle’s “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, also posted by Akif Aizwaf, shot across Twitter yesterday brightening many people’s Monday morning.
https://twitter.com/nrg07/status/889312091663761408
Susi, who had never held political office before her current position, was tapped by President Joko Widodo as part of his original cabinet (and one of the few from that cabinet still standing). A truly self-made woman, she was previously most famous for starting a fishing business, buying a plane to help grow that business, and eventually turning that one plane into a whole airline – her eponymous Susi Air.
This is just further proof of what we’ve said before – that Susi is the coolest minister in ASEAN – but if you need more evidence, check out the rest of her rock star resume.
https://www.facebook.com/CoconutsJakarta/posts/1912376965716250
https://www.facebook.com/CoconutsJakarta/posts/1932812750339338
https://www.facebook.com/CoconutsJakarta/posts/1962334767387136
https://www.facebook.com/CoconutsJakarta/posts/1964309500522996
