Our 20th anniversary

This day 20 years ago, the first edition of The Jakarta Post rolled off the press and into the light of day. In the history of the newspaper publishing business, a mere 20 years' existence is not considered a particularly important milestone. Even by Indonesian newspaper standards, surviving 20 years is no spectacular event. The Waspada newspaper, for example, published in Medan, was established in 1947, although it was closed down several times by the Dutch administration, which controlled the city in the late 1940s. Further, other English-language newspapers have existed in this country, such as The Indonesian Observer (1954) and The Indonesia Times (1974).

What makes the emergence of The Jakarta Post in 1983 such a unique event was that four publishing partners managed to agree to jointly bring out an English-language newspaper. Three aspects of this collaboration deserve particular notice. First, the four partners all had different backgrounds, and it is no secret that in the media publishing world, competitiveness and excessive pride are prominent. Nevertheless, the four agreed to start a joint enterprise, although its commercial justification was still doubtful.

Second, the plan to publish an English-language newspaper in a non-English speaking country such as Indonesia must have a clear focus -- all the more so since, at that time, two English- language newspapers were already in circulation.

Third, the fact that the Post had its roots in the Indonesian media publishing world, it was gradually able to express the ideas and aspirations that prevailed in the Indonesian community. This final aspect eventually grew to become the raison d'etre of The Jakarta Post, although it was not clearly defined as such by the four partners.

It was no less interesting, during the final phase of president Soeharto's regime before his abrupt resignation in mid- 1998, however, that the Post's readership consisted of more Indonesians than expatriates. Of course, the Post did not report this internal survey finding to the government, which continued to assume that the newspaper was read mainly by expatriates.

It was this assumption, which offered some room to breathe, that the Post sought to capitalize on, and thereby encouraged our colleagues in the Indonesian media to exercise a more critical stance toward a regime that was already suffering from advanced political decay.

Perhaps we had all along entertained the idea of becoming an editors' newspaper that, although small in terms of circulation, could take on a role as an agenda-setting publication. Scanning through our editions of May 1998, for example, and going over the headlines, editorials and opinion pieces of that period, one might be surprised that the Post had escaped being attacked by the thugs of the Soeharto family.

By no means we are indulging on an ego trip here, in elucidating the distinct role that our newspaper played in the period immediately preceding president Soeharto's sudden resignation. Rather, the opposite is true: We are merely emphasizing the ironic situation that existed after the reform movement had blossomed and press freedom was unilaterally proclaimed by president B.J. Habibie's interim government.

Like so many other decisions that president Habibie made to show that he was "Mister Democracy" and thereby ensuring his election by a reformed constituent assembly, his decision to annul the repressive regulations on press publications was never followed up by supporting guidelines. The new free flow of information -- although official sources were still not that accessible and only a few public criticisms could be aired without censorship -- raised an existential problem for The Jakarta Post: What should our role be in this post-Soeharto era?

Our task became more complex, requiring a thorough analysis of the seemingly chaotic situation in which Indonesia was finding itself. To select and prominently display the main issues regarding political developments, economic recovery, judicial reform, social harmony among ethnic groups and adherents of different religions and the power shifts in global politics, has become the main editorial agenda of this newspaper.

We never hesitated to criticize the regimes that came after the demise of president Soeharto's administration, although they claimed to be the champions of reformasi. Our main purpose remains, together with our colleagues in the Indonesian media, although in a small and modest manner, to push this country forward in order to reduce the suffering of so many of our fellow countrymen.

In celebrating our 20th anniversary, we are filled with a sense of gratitude in remembering our colleagues, past and present, who have helped us in building this newspaper. We are also grateful to various news sources who, when times were difficult, took the risk to provide us with information -- in order that our readers might be made aware of current events and developments. We would also like to extend our gratitude to all our contributing writers who, in spite of their professional commitments, have always been ready to impart their thoughts and their views on our editorial pages.

Our thanks also go to the numerous advertisers, either individuals or corporations, without whose patronage this newspaper could not have survived.

And last but not least, The Jakarta Post thanks our readership for your trust and loyalty.