Our 20th anniversary

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.