Senior 'Sinar Harapan' journalist passes away

Sinar Harapan daily's senior journalist Annie Bertha Simamora, 62, passed away on Monday after dedicating almost her entire life to the national media industry and Indonesian foreign policy.

She died at 11 a.m. West Indonesian Time at Mitra Keluarga Hospital, Jatinegara, East Jakarta, after several days of treatment for the lung cancer she had fought for many years.

Sinar Harapan's Deputy Chief Editor Kristanto Hartadi expressed his pride at having Annie on his staff. Annie was a senior journalist and a mentor to many junior journalists over the course of her career.

"Almost all journalists of her generation know her, and among her colleagues, she was known as being persistent and compassionate, and made friends easily with everyone she met," he said.

Kristanto said he was one of the junior reporters whom Annie mentored when he and several others joined Suara Pembaruan in 1989.

"As a senior journalist covering the State Palace and foreign events, she was known to not only several Indonesian presidents, but also to a number of ASEAN leaders for her persistence in seeking detailed information and raising pointed questions."

He said Annie joined Sinar Harapan again after the daily was revived in July 2001 and continued her work at the foreign desk.

"Over the last few years, Ibu Annie could no longer be with us fully because of her illness, but she gave us the best she had," he told The Jakarta Post.

Annie, who was born in Luwuk, South Sulawesi, in 1941, started her career as a journalist at Berita Buana daily and went on to join Sinar Harapan in July 1972 with a beat covering the State Palace and the foreign ministry.

She moved to Suara Pembaruan in February 1987, after Sinar Harapan was closed down by the government, until her official retirement in 1999. She then spent several months as senior editor at Suara Bangsa daily before it closed in 2000.

Former foreign minister Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, who stopped by to express his condolences at Annie's house in Cipinang, where her body was laid out, also appreciated Annie's dedication and compassion in carrying out her tasks as a journalist.

Chairman of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) Tarman Azzam said the Indonesian press had lost one of its best journalists. Senior journalist Alber Situmorang of Suara Pembaruan said Annie was also known for her critical and in-depth stories on foreign policy.

Annie's body will be interred at Pondok Kelapa Public Cemetery, East Jakarta, on Tuesday.