Our 20th anniversary

Today 20 years ago, the first edition of The Jakarta Post saw the light. In the history of the newspaper publishing business, a mere 20 years of existence is not particularly considered an important milestone. Even for Indonesian standards, for a newspaper to have survived for 20 years is not a spectacular event. The Waspada newspaper, published in Medan, was born in 1947, although it was closed down several times by the Dutch administration, which controlled the city in the late 1940s. And in the history of English-language newspapers published in this country, others existed before, 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. Two, or perhaps three aspects deserve to be noted in this particular case. First, the four partners have different historical backgrounds, and it is no secret that in the media publishing world the sense of competitiveness and excessive pride stand out prominently. Nevertheless, the four agreed to start a joint enterprise whose commercial justification was still in doubt.

The second aspect is that to publish an English-language newspaper in a non-English speaking country such as Indonesia must bear a clear relevance -- all the more so since at that time two newspapers in that same language were already in circulation. The third aspect eventually grew to be the raison d'etre of The Jakarta Post, although it was not clearly defined as such by the four partners: Because it was more rooted in the Indonesian media publishing world, the newspaper was gradually able to express the ideas and aspirations that prevailed in the Indonesian community.

What was no less interesting during the final phase of President Soeharto's regime before his abrupt resignation in mid- 1998, however, was that percentage-wise the Post's readership counted more Indonesians than expatriates among its readership. 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 leeway that the Post sought to maximize, thereby encouraging our colleagues in the Indonesian media to pick up this trend of being more critical towards a regime that was already suffering from advanced political decay. Perhaps we had all along been entertaining the idea of becoming an editors' newspaper that, although small in terms of circulation, could take on a role as an agenda-setting media publication. Scanning our editions of May 1998, for example, and going over the headlines, editorials and opinion pieces of that period, one could be surprised that the Post had escaped being attacked by the thugs of the Soeharto family.

It is not that we are indulging ourselves in an ego trip by stressing the distinct role that our newspaper played in the immediate period leading to President Soeharto's abrupt resignation. Rather the opposite is true: We are merely trying to stress 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 took to show that he was Mister Democrat, thereby ensuring his election by a reformed constituent assembly, his decision to annul the constraining regulations on press publications was never shored up by follow-up measures. The free flow of information -- although official sources were still not that accessible and the critical views from the public that could be aired unhampered remained limited -- raised an existential problem for The Jakarta Post, which is, what our relevant role should be in this post- Soeharto period.

As it turned out, 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 do not hesitate to criticize the regimes that came after the demise of President Soeharto's administration, although they may claim 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 common Indonesians.

In celebrating our 20th anniversary, we are filled with a sense of gratefulness, remembering our colleagues who have passed away or who have retired, who have helped us build this newspaper. We also express our gratitude to our various news sources who, when times were difficult, took the risks and helped us with information in order that our readers may be aware of ongoing events and developments. We are also grateful to all our contributing writers who, in spite of their busy schedules have always been ready to convey their thoughts and their views on our editorial pages.

Last but certainly not least, our thanks goes to the readers, numerous advertisers, either individuals or from the corporate world, without whose help this newspaper could not have survived.