Opening a window into little-known Indonesia

Opening a window into little-known Indonesia

Ed Masters, Washington DC

I join the many other friends and admirers of The Jakarta Post
in extending my very best wishes and congratulations on the happy
occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Post. I have been an avid
reader of the Post since it began publishing 20 years ago, and
the newspaper is unquestionably the best way for those of us far
removed from Jakarta to keep up with fast-moving developments in
Indonesia.

When I founded the United States-Indonesia Society nearly 10
years ago, one of my early acts was to subscribe to the Post.
All of us in the office read it daily from beginning to end to
get insights on fast-moving, complex developments in the world's
fourth most populous nation.

We then put the paper in our small but growing library where
it was available to other friends of Indonesia in the Washington
area. We are now able on an even more timely basis to keep up
with the news on the Post's excellent website.

In the short span of 20 years The Jakarta Post has become one
of the best and most respected English-language journals in
Southeast Asia. Your reporting is insightful, thorough and
balanced. I know if I read something in the Post that I am
getting an accurate picture of what is going on.

Among other things, I congratulate the Post on its outstanding
year-end summaries of developments. These are among the best
anywhere, and they become a permanent part of my personal
library. I also have been honored on several occasions by having
my speeches or op-ed articles printed in the Post.

You are making a significant contribution to better
understanding at home and abroad of a nation which is far too
little understood in my own country. I wish the Post and its
staff continued success in the years ahead as you continue to
report on the new, democratic Indonesia. Through the Post, we
will be able to follow Indonesia's progress.

(The writer, a former U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, is co-
chairman of the United States-Indonesia Society.)