Rosihan Anwar born to write<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Having experienced press history for over three generations,
\nveteran journalist Rosihan Anwar found himself finally relieved
\nwhen the reform era had really brought the dark ages of the
\ncountry's suppression of the media to an end.<\/p>\n
According to Rosihan, whose mind is quite sharp despite having
\nrecently celebrated his 80th birthday, last Friday (May 10),
\npress liberties in the country have indeed ridden a
\nrollercoaster.<\/p>\n
Censorship was common during the Dutch colonialist time and
\nthe Japanese occupation in the 1940s. Repression of journalists
\nand curbing of publications were rampant during the Sukarno and
\nSoeharto regimes.<\/p>\n
Relative freedoms of the press have been achieved since the
\nreform movement in 1998, and it should be maintained, said
\nRosihan.<\/p>\n
In that light, Rosihan warned the public about the recent
\ndevelopments in which the current administration of Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri was seen to be \"allergic to the press\", which could
\nsignal a return to curbing of press freedoms in the near future.<\/p>\n
\"The President and the House members have recently been
\nexpressing opinions that the freedom of the press was out of
\nproportion,\" Rosihan told The Jakarta Post with an angry
\nexpression while at his modest, old house in Menteng, Central
\nJakarta on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Their accusations are not true, he said, as the media is
\ngenerally well-mannered, with the few exceptions being a bit of
\nsensationalizing.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, the press should always be alert that their
\nfreedoms could easily be taken away by the authorities,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rosihan Anwar was born on May 10, 1922 in Kubang Nan Dua, West
\nSumatra. He is the son of a prominent local figure Asisten Demang
\nAnwar, also of West Sumatra, and had the privilege of studying in
\nDutch schools while growing up.<\/p>\n
He continued his study at the prestigious senior high school
\nAMS in Yogyakarta, and excelled in the Western Classics
\ndepartment. His distinguished education background paved his way
\nto get several fellowships and scholarships abroad later on,
\nincluding to Yale University and the Columbia University School
\nof Journalism in the United States.<\/p>\n
He began his journalism career with the Asia Raya newspaper in
\n1943, and later was the editor of several newspapers including
\nSiasat and Merdeka.<\/p>\n
Rosihan established the prominent Pedoman daily in 1948,
\nbefore it was axed by Sukarno in 1961 for being too critical of
\nthe regime.<\/p>\n
Pedoman resumed publication in 1967, but it was curbed again
\nin 1974 after the Malari chaos in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He once served as a member of the People's Consultative
\nAssembly from 1973 to 1978 representing the journalist
\nprofession.<\/p>\n
Rosihan is a productive writer. He has written 27 books -- not
\nto mention hundreds of his journalistic and essay works. After
\nretiring from formal positions in newspapers in 1974, he became a
\ncolumnist for many publications including Kompas, The Age in
\nMelbourne, Australia and The Strait Times from Singapore.<\/p>\n
In addition to writing, Rosihan has also been involved in
\nother artistic endeavors. He performed as an actor in several
\nfilms, and he was even one of the founders of the Indonesian Film
\nCompany (Perfini), along with noted filmmaker Usmar Ismail.<\/p>\n
He was given the Golden Pen award from the Indonesian
\nJournalist Association (PWI) in 1978 and was the recipient of
\nother honorary awards from Tunisia and the Philippines to name
\ntwo.<\/p>\n
He said he was happy he made the choice to become a journalist
\nas it always kept him in touch with events and people making the
\nnews. \"I like to interview people and to report events,\" said
\nRosihan, in fluent English.<\/p>\n
However, this does not mean that he has not been tempted to
\ntake up another profession.<\/p>\n
His former editor at Asia Raya, Cokroaminoto, who was hired by
\nthe Indonesian Military in 1946 as head of their Communications
\nDepartment and given the rank of colonel, once offered him a
\nposition in the department.<\/p>\n
\"I was promised a rank as captain, but I turned down the offer
\nsince as an AMS graduate, I deserved a rank of at least a major.
\nHad I accepted, I would have probably went on to become a
\nlieutenant general,\" said Rosihan with a laugh.<\/p>\n
According to Rosihan, he regrets that his love of journalism
\ndid not get passed on to his children.<\/p>\n
His two daughters are doctors, and his only son is a finance
\ndirector at private television station ANteve.<\/p>\n
But Rosihan keeps on writing, including his regular column in
\nthe Cek & Ricek weekly tabloid.<\/p>\n
\"Keeping busy with my writing prevents senility,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Now at 80, he says he has no more ambition, including to
\nrestart Pedoman. \"I am too old, and that requires a lot of
\nmoney,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But he will never be too old to give advice to younger
\njournalists, and he wants to impress upon them how important
\ntheir job is to the nation. He said \"the fighting soul of the
\npress\" should be revived even though the media of today were
\nfighting for different things than those of his era.<\/p>\n
\"In the early part of my career, the responsibility of the
\npress was to fight for freedom from the Dutch and Japanese
\ncolonizers. Similarly, today's press should fight for the
\ninterests of the oppressed people -- to free them from poverty --
\nand should fight against corruption.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rosihan-anwar-born-to-write-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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