REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Dr Hagi Yulia Sugeha (40 years) had never imagined her meeting with a Tokyo freshwater eel expert, Professor Katsumi Tsukamoto, was the starting point in her achievement. Since 2001, Sugeha decided to join Katsumi to research the freshwater eel or unagi in Indonesian waters. The expedition obtained amazing discovery. Apparently, Indonesia is the home of tropical unagi or Anguilla celebensis.

Her curiosity for freshwater eel increased as she always believes that every God’s creation has its purpose. Ten years of studying unagi, she often attended international congress. In the fifth World Fisheries Congress in Yokohama, Japan, in 2008, the participants were fascinated by her presentation about Indonesian unagi.

The Congress again appoints Sugeha as a speaker for the next congress in Edinburg, United Kingdom (UK). “The presentation is the first report about five species of unagi in Papua,” she said.

Sugeha got her bachelor and master degrees from Universitas Sam Ratulangi. Then she got a chance to continue her study in Tokyo University, a place where Katsumi worked as a lecturer. Study in Japan was not easy for her, especially in keeping her Muslim identity in non-Muslim country. Some Japanese colleagues seemed reluctant to accept her. Sometimes, she was not allowed to prayer before she finished her job.

Then she set a strategy. She walked out the room without telling her colleagues. It went well until her colleagues found out. Another problem was about food as her colleagues accused her picky. She refused to consume any food contains pork. Her choices in food was criticized and she was labeled as “fanatic”.     

“Scientist must not be fanatics,” her lecturer said.

Yet, the challenges never discouraged her. Instead, she was proud to show her identity as a muslim. “I decided to wear veil to show that I was a Muslim,” she said. Some of her friends mocked her. They said, “You look like a ninja.”

Her determination was finally praised by the Japanese. Some of them started to pay attention on her, then respected her. “They gave me the halal food and beverage,” she said.

Due to her intelligence, she also gained respect from people around her. She fluently speaks Japanese. When a congress member asked her in Japanese, she replied in Japanese fluently. Her superiority attracted Katsumi. He offered her a position as his assistant. She declined the offering. She preferred going back to Indonesia. She then accepted as a researcher in Indonesian Institutes of Science (LIPI).

Now, she still conducts unagi research in Indonesian waters that also involve students and lecturers from several universities. The observation occurs in the evening until two am. Living as a scientist does not make Sugeha abandon her faith. The freshwater eel always amazes her. She hopes Indonesia can preserve and nurture the creature, as the freshwater eel population in Japan and Europe decreasing.

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