Our 21st anniversary

The Jakarta Post has just reached the challenging age of 21, as the first edition of the paper saw the light of day on Monday, April 25, 1983. For a newspaper, a 21-year history is not a particularly outstanding achievement. Some newspapers in this relatively young country have already passed their 50th year of publication.

Getting by in the bad times and prospering in the good is only part of a newspaper's life. What is more important is how relevant the paper is to its readers, and how significant its contribution to the public at large. For the Post, the challenge of making the paper relevant to its readers and significant to the public at large -- every day, seven days a week -- is indeed huge, and many times it seemed insurmountable.

Especially so, as this is an English-language newspaper in a country whose population speaks and thinks in more than 250 distinctly different languages, spread over more than 17,000 islands. On the other hand, this paper is the only one that speaks the language of the world at large and, as such, the only independent reference on a country with more than 220 million people -- the fifth-largest in the world in terms of population.

Catering to such a diverse audience, inside and outside the country, does indeed pose an enormous task for our journalists. Working "24 hours a day, seven days a week", they strive original) to build a strong culture of independence and a basic sense of fairness and courage to do what is right, with a sense of responsibility. Amid the superabundance and immediacy of hourly information, they have to select the most relevant and significant, and then provide objective analytical journalism.

That task put this newspaper in a very vulnerable position during its first 15 years of existence, until the end of the authoritarian regime of former president Soeharto, who abruptly quit the presidency in May 1998. During those times, however, it was gradually able to express the ideas and aspirations that prevailed within the Indonesian community. The assumption at that time -- that the newspaper was read mainly by expatriates -- provided some breathing space that the paper sought to capitalize on, and thereby encouraged our colleagues in the Indonesian media to take a more critical stance toward a politically decaying regime. The paper grew to become the voice of reason in Indonesia, to some extent enabling it to take on a role as an agenda-setting publication.

The ensuing five years, which saw the annulment of repressive regulations on press publications, brought forward new challenges. A free flow of information within the country, coupled with the fast-growing world of the Internet, made our task more complex. It required a thorough analysis of the seemingly chaotic situation in which Indonesia was finding itself.

The reform agenda initiated after mid-1998 did not live up to expectations. Political reform stalled, the economy simply muddling through. The supposed reform of the judiciary ended up with Indonesia identified as the country with the most corrupt judicial system in the world. Meanwhile, social harmony between ethnic groups and adherents of different religions became very fragile and vulnerable to power shifts in global politics.

Indonesian voters gave their verdict earlier this month in the legislative election. They voiced disappointment and distrust at the so-called reformist agenda. The message is loud and clear: The people want change!

One of the most challenging questions now, is: What kind of change do the people want? Obviously, not a return to the authoritarian regime of Soeharto, as reflected in the tiny proportion of voters that chose a new political party explicitly espousing his past glories. On the other hand, an affirmative answer seems to be elusive.

The Jakarta Post enters the current year with that question still burning. In our drive to promote a more humane, civil society in this very diverse country, we realize that the coming years will not be the same as the last five: We envision more difficult times to come. We believe in an undertaking to empower society and enhance the nation's standing in the world so that it will be on a par with other respected and civilized nations.

This is not, however, an ego trip. It should be a nationwide endeavor, in which the Post can only contribute to the creation of a nucleus of a well-informed society that is imbued with universal humanitarian values.

We are grateful to the various parties that have helped us in building this institution -- our readers, advertisers, colleagues, contributors and news sources. We thank all of you for your continued trust and loyalty.