Rusdi Kirana is a man who has no qualms about taking the bull by the horns. He rose from humble beginnings and flew into a ‘new and challenging territory’ on the wings of a powerful dream. In a recent interview, the Indonesian billionaire talks to Top 10 of Indonesia about his background and his foray into the aviation industry, blazing a successful trail that also led to his recent ambassador role for the country – Indonesia’s envoy to Malaysia.

In the 1980s, Rusdi Kirana used to wait at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta with name placards to greet arriving passengers. Kirana was helping his brother who ran a company that provided passport, visa and ground handling services. Over a period of time, he then realized that Indonesia was in need of a low-cost aviation service to connect its 17,000 islands that are spread far and wide in the region. Kirana and his brother saw the potential of tapping into this huge market which inspired them to start an airline business, Lion Air, in the year 2000.

Lion Air is the largest domestic low-cost and privately-run carrier in Indonesia. Characterized by the success of its low-cost business model, the airline expanded rapidly and soon it leapt to international prominence by being a fast-growing carrier in South-East Asia.

Lion Group consists of three main airlines: budget carrier Lion Air, full-service carrier Batik Air, and low-density route carrier Wings Air that flies to the far-flung islands of Indonesia. Malindo Air and Thai Lion Air are subsidiaries of Lion Air in Malaysia and Thailand respectively. Lion Air flies an average of 200,000 passengers and 1,600 flights in a day, and employs some 30,000 staff.

Kirana blazed a successful trail that began in 2000 with a capital of US$50,000 and one Russian aircraft. However, he didn’t dive into the aviation industry at the early stages of his career.

“Just after I finished high school, I worked as a salesman for Brother typewriter. My salary was US$5 a month according to the currency today,” says Kirana.

After selling typewriters, he moved on to sell baking ingredients for a German confectionery. “During that time, I learnt how to bake black forest cakes, cookies and croissants. The most complicated one is the croissant because you have to roll it well – very difficult – then you put the margarine on the layers. When you bake it, it becomes crispy,” says Kirana with a grin.

After his ‘affair’ with typewriters and cakes, Kirana went on to build Lion Air which is currently the second largest low-cost airline in South-East Asia after Air Asia.

When asked if he viewed Air Asia as his competitor, Kirana smilingly replies, “Air Asia is a friendly competitor. If Tony Fernandes wants to grow his business by 10%, I want to grow mine by 15%. If I want to grow my business by 15%, Tony wants to grow his by 20%. We support each other wherever we can; we try to be competitive in a good way.”

When asked about the rebranding exercise of Malindo Air to Batik Air, Kirana has this to comment: “Malindo is in the process of obtaining approval from the countries it flies to for registration under the new name.”

With Lion Air achieving phenomenal success in the region, one would typically expect the airline boss to be in the thick of things in the aviation industry but Kirana had other dreams and visions. He entered politics and was appointed by President Joko Widodo to be part of his advisory council and subsequently, as the Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia.

“I had actually asked my President to appoint me as the ambassador to Malaysia because I want to help the Indonesian maids and their children who are in Malaysia,” reveals Rusdi.

One of the issues facing these Indonesian workers is that their children do not get the proper education in the schools as many of them were born to parents who are working illegally in Malaysia. As a first step to mitigate the problem, the ambassador is building vocational schools called Community Learning Centres (CLC) in Sabah for these children.

“CLC will focus on culinary and hospitality education. Tourism in Sabah is growing tremendously, and hotels need human resources. Yes, many of the children may not be having a legal status in Malaysia but if we provide them the right training and skills in hospitality, they can be hired for work and will not be a liability for Malaysia and Indonesia in time to come. When they do return to Indonesia, it’s also easier for them to find a job because they would have the necessary skills and experience,” explains Kirana.

Besides workers and cross-border issues, Kirana believes that there are plenty of opportunities for Malaysia and Indonesia to further strengthen ties. He comments, “We are neighbours and we share a similar culture. Why don’t we work together?”

One of the strategies that the ambassador is very keen to implement is the twin city concept and joint tourism packages between the two countries. “Tourism is one way in which we can complement each other. We can have twin cities such as Kota Kinabalu and Bali or Kota Kinabalu and Manado. Or we can have a medical and leisure tourism package. We have the diving spots, you have the city infrastructure,” elaborates Kirana.

But has the ambassador the intention to promote joint tourism between the two countries via Lion Air? “I certainly make a distinction between my role as a businessman and a government officer. As an ambassador, I cannot put my business first. However, because of my business, my relationship with the Malaysian government is on a stronger level for mutual benefits. Malaysia may need my airline for routes that were not opened before, for example, Jakarta and Kota Kinabalu, or Pontianak and Miri,” says Kirana.

Ever since Kirana was appointed by President Widodo to his advisory council, he resigned as the chief executive officer of Lion Air which is now run by trusted people who have been in the airline since they first began. Kirana is no longer ambitious in the expansion of his airline empire. Instead, he now wants to give back to his countrymen. “I’m already 55 years old and what else do I want? I want to do social service, to help the Indonesian maids and to provide education for their children,” says Kirana

With so much on his plate, how does the trail-blazing ambassador manage his stress and to keep himself motivated? “When I wake up in the morning and before going to sleep at night, I thank God for what I have today. No doubt, when I was running an airline with 1,600 flights a day, there were a lot of issues and challenges. If I were to think of all my problems, I will feel depressed and miserable. However, if I just focus on one day at a time, I am very much thankful – I have my airline, I can still fly as a passenger on the airline, my family is in good hands and I am healthy and can still eat well. It’s really a blessing. So, I’m grateful for today.”