Our 20th anniversary

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.