Rosihan Anwar born to write

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Having experienced press history for over three generations, veteran journalist Rosihan Anwar found himself finally relieved when the reform era had really brought the dark ages of the country's suppression of the media to an end.

According to Rosihan, whose mind is quite sharp despite having recently celebrated his 80th birthday, last Friday (May 10), press liberties in the country have indeed ridden a rollercoaster.

Censorship was common during the Dutch colonialist time and the Japanese occupation in the 1940s. Repression of journalists and curbing of publications were rampant during the Sukarno and Soeharto regimes.

Relative freedoms of the press have been achieved since the reform movement in 1998, and it should be maintained, said Rosihan.

In that light, Rosihan warned the public about the recent developments in which the current administration of Megawati Soekarnoputri was seen to be "allergic to the press", which could signal a return to curbing of press freedoms in the near future.

"The President and the House members have recently been expressing opinions that the freedom of the press was out of proportion," Rosihan told The Jakarta Post with an angry expression while at his modest, old house in Menteng, Central Jakarta on Saturday.

Their accusations are not true, he said, as the media is generally well-mannered, with the few exceptions being a bit of sensationalizing.

"Therefore, the press should always be alert that their freedoms could easily be taken away by the authorities," he said.

Rosihan Anwar was born on May 10, 1922 in Kubang Nan Dua, West Sumatra. He is the son of a prominent local figure Asisten Demang Anwar, also of West Sumatra, and had the privilege of studying in Dutch schools while growing up.

He continued his study at the prestigious senior high school AMS in Yogyakarta, and excelled in the Western Classics department. His distinguished education background paved his way to get several fellowships and scholarships abroad later on, including to Yale University and the Columbia University School of Journalism in the United States.

He began his journalism career with the Asia Raya newspaper in 1943, and later was the editor of several newspapers including Siasat and Merdeka.

Rosihan established the prominent Pedoman daily in 1948, before it was axed by Sukarno in 1961 for being too critical of the regime.

Pedoman resumed publication in 1967, but it was curbed again in 1974 after the Malari chaos in Jakarta.

He once served as a member of the People's Consultative Assembly from 1973 to 1978 representing the journalist profession.

Rosihan is a productive writer. He has written 27 books -- not to mention hundreds of his journalistic and essay works. After retiring from formal positions in newspapers in 1974, he became a columnist for many publications including Kompas, The Age in Melbourne, Australia and The Strait Times from Singapore.

In addition to writing, Rosihan has also been involved in other artistic endeavors. He performed as an actor in several films, and he was even one of the founders of the Indonesian Film Company (Perfini), along with noted filmmaker Usmar Ismail.

He was given the Golden Pen award from the Indonesian Journalist Association (PWI) in 1978 and was the recipient of other honorary awards from Tunisia and the Philippines to name two.

He said he was happy he made the choice to become a journalist as it always kept him in touch with events and people making the news. "I like to interview people and to report events," said Rosihan, in fluent English.

However, this does not mean that he has not been tempted to take up another profession.

His former editor at Asia Raya, Cokroaminoto, who was hired by the Indonesian Military in 1946 as head of their Communications Department and given the rank of colonel, once offered him a position in the department.

"I was promised a rank as captain, but I turned down the offer since as an AMS graduate, I deserved a rank of at least a major. Had I accepted, I would have probably went on to become a lieutenant general," said Rosihan with a laugh.

According to Rosihan, he regrets that his love of journalism did not get passed on to his children.

His two daughters are doctors, and his only son is a finance director at private television station ANteve.

But Rosihan keeps on writing, including his regular column in the Cek & Ricek weekly tabloid.

"Keeping busy with my writing prevents senility," he said.

Now at 80, he says he has no more ambition, including to restart Pedoman. "I am too old, and that requires a lot of money," he said.

But he will never be too old to give advice to younger journalists, and he wants to impress upon them how important their job is to the nation. He said "the fighting soul of the press" should be revived even though the media of today were fighting for different things than those of his era.

"In the early part of my career, the responsibility of the press was to fight for freedom from the Dutch and Japanese colonizers. Similarly, today's press should fight for the interests of the oppressed people -- to free them from poverty -- and should fight against corruption."