Literary magazine making a comeback

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)