HE is a punggawa—an expert at building pinisi boats in Bulukumba. But Abdullah Hasan, 49, is better known as a successful boat entrepreneur. Building boats, he said, cannot be taught because it is something in the blood since birth. Born in Lemo village, Abdullah runs a business that is worth billions of rupiah. Orders for the boats come from within as well as outside the country.

His schooling only went as far as junior high school, but Abdul