Literary magazine making a comeback

JAKARTA (JP): Media Kerja Budaya a quarterly magazine that first appeared in 1994 was relaunched last week as a bimonthly, reaffirming its commitment to popularizing literature among the public.

Unlike other literary magazines like Horison and Kalam, Media Kerja Budaya does not solely focus on literature but also runs articles on current affairs.

In its latest edition, the magazine describes how the New Order government under Soeharto, who fell from grace last year after 32 years in power, greatly distorted the nation's history in its favor.

In its editorial, Media Kerja Budaya warns that history could have a horrible impact on future generations if history books are not revised to record the true facts.

New Order leaders often considered people who helped make history as "traitors", disregarding their contribution, simply because they were critical of the regime's policies, the editorial says.

In its special column, the magazine -- which was first published in September 1994 -- details how the New Order regime manipulated history in the six-volume Indonesian National History, considered as the new order's masterpiece.

In other articles, the 40-page magazine further explores the "integration" of East Timor into Indonesia and continuing political tension in Irian Jaya. It also discusses the beginning of the New Order administration, the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the banning of some books under the repressive New Order.

A journalist of the magazine, Hilmar Farid, said that Media Kerja Budaya was first set up by a group of young people who had patriotic ideas: to contribute something useful to the country. They started with discussions before deciding to set up the magazine to express themselves and to let other people know of their ideas.

The magazine's mission, he said, was to help promote culture and stimulate ideas.

"Commercial media often forget this (the need to promote culture and stimulate ideas). That's what we're trying to make up for," he said before relaunching the magazine at the National Library in Salemba, Central Jakarta, on Thursday evening.

The latest edition also features music, arts, a film review, poetry, a short story, a book review, a profile and an essay. All articles are written in easy to understand prose.

Media Kerja Budaya has lots of illustrations that add color to its contents.

Hilmar said that profit was not the main target of the magazine, which sells for Rp 7,500 per copy. He refused to reveal the circulation.

"We don't mind if people photocopy our magazine (because the prize is steep) ... the most important thing is that it can be read by as many people as possible," Hilmar said.

The relaunching attracted lots of people and featured cultural speeches by noted women's rights activist Karlina Leksono Supeli, who talked about culture and humanity, and internationally acclaimed writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who talked about the importance of history.

Karlina lamented cases of violence that have taken many lives. Although the New Order regime has fallen and the Habibie government has pledged to uphold the supremacy of the law, there is no guarantee that acts of violence will stop, she said.

"Over the past year, we have lived in a country where acts of brutality have been uncovered one by one. But nothing is really surprising," Karlina said.

The 74-year-old Pramoedya, who was released from prison in 1979 after spending 14 years of his life in jail without trial, appeared relaxed and frequently told jokes about his personal experiences and criticized the government.

He told youngsters not to turn a blind eye to the present realities where oppression still persisted.

He also used the occasion to express his opinion about the idea to turn Indonesia into a federal state. "I oppose a federal state, greater autonomy is better... A federation would open up more chances for foreign interference," said Pramoedya, who just received an honorary doctorate from the University of Michigan.

Pramoedya was jailed because of his alleged PKI literary wing. He spent 10 years in a prison camp on Buru island in the southern part of Maluku, from where he wrote his four novels: This Earth of Mankind, Child of All Nations, Footsteps and House of Glass. (ste)