New edition of 'Merdeka' daily

JAKARTA (JP): One of the pioneers in Indonesian newspapers, the Merdeka daily, reappeared again on Friday after a six-month hiatus.

The daily, first published in 1945, appeared in a 12-page edition under a new masthead.

"However, the spirit is still the same," Merdeka manager Dodie Hermawan said on Friday.

Dodie said some Rp 4 billion (US$470,588) was injected into the paper for its return.

Merdeka daily was established by the late B.M. Diah, and remains under the same general management and ownership with Herawati Diah as director.

The daily stopped publication on April 22 following internal friction which resulted in a number of editorial staff jumping ship and establishing the rival Rakyat Merdeka.

Dodie remained confident that Merdeka would regain its position among Indonesia's media elite.

"We are also planning to buy a new printing machine to support the new team on the daily," he added.

Dodie said the daily printed 42,000 copies on its first day and about 35,000 were sold.

He claimed that dozens confirmed their readiness to subscribe, but acknowledged that the number was still below expectation.

Distribution will be focused on Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, for the first few months. (04)