Taking the Temperature
JAKARTA — The Siwabessy Hall at the Ministry of Health in Jakarta felt different from the places we used to visit when we were still working journalists. In those days, we sought out health stories. Now, we were finding out about our own health.
On Monday, 26 October 2026, 175 senior journalists gathered for something far more fundamental: a health check. Some came with their wives or husbands.
Several colleagues had arrived as early as seven in the morning. Apparently, when it comes to their own health, even news hounds do not want to miss out.
The room was filled with older faces. Most were fathers, their hair turning white, their skin sagging and their eyes holding decades of stories. Yet many were smartly dressed, as if attending the appointment of a new editor-in-chief.
They had covered wars, pursued officials, exposed scandals and run newsrooms. They had even decided what millions of people should read. Radio, television, newspaper and tabloid journalists mingled together.
Now they were queuing to have their blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, heart and eyesight checked. They used to scrutinise the world; now it was the medical world’s turn to scrutinise them.
The Indonesian Senior Journalists’ Union (SWSI), also known as SW60+, organised the free health checks in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin and Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid attended. Our colleagues, it seems, remain adept at bringing together two ministries responsible for two basic human needs: health and communication.
One helps keep the body functioning; the other ensures information gets through. Both need regular checks so problems can be detected before they develop into something serious. The difference is that a mistake in a news report can be corrected quickly, whereas a body that has already been damaged is not always so easy to repair.
Budi Gunadi said President Prabowo had tasked him with raising Indonesia’s average life expectancy from 72 to 76 years.
He highlighted stroke, heart disease, cancer and kidney failure, which can shorten lives if detected too late. These illnesses require serious attention, particularly among older people.
The Health Minister also shared a simple prescription that does not cost much: sleep for around seven hours and 40 minutes a day, exercise for at least 30 minutes on five days a week, and eat in moderation.
He recommended regular health checks, including through the government’s Free Health Check-up (CKG) programme, which has been running since 2025.
The advice struck close to home. Senior journalists are generally no longer as strong as they once were. Carrying a camera, running after sources, waiting for hours outside an official’s office or standing for long periods in a crowd are no longer easy tasks.
We used to treat our bodies like official vehicles that could be driven hard all day. Stories had to be finished, pages had to go to press and broadcasts had to go on air. Meals, sleep and rest could wait. Now, those vehicles are increasingly asking to be taken to the garage.
Meutya Hafid drew attention to another issue that matters just as much: journalists’ mental health. She spoke of the psychological pressures that arise when journalists cover conflict or witness traumatic events.
Her own experience of being held hostage by an armed group in Iraq in 2005, while working as a journalist for Metro TV, gave the issue a human context.
Covering conflict, facing threats and constantly absorbing bad news can affect one’s thoughts, emotions and mood. Meutya advised journalists to take a break between one demanding assignment and the next.
The advice also applies to retired journalists. Although their staff identity cards may have been put away long ago, some still carry the newsroom in their heads.
In WhatsApp groups, for instance, the old hands are still busy discussing the state of the nation. Political polarisation is nothing new. One person criticises the government, another defends its policies, while a third offers a different perspective.
There is no need for anyone to slam the group door or send a long, angry message. They know one another, understand each other’s field experience and recognise that disagreement is part of democratic life.
They have spent years debating stories in newsrooms, testing sources’ arguments and even risking their reputations for a report.
Political differences in the group feel less consequential because they understand that friendship need not collapse over a difference in political preference.
Still, long conversations and the habit of constantly thinking about the news need to be balanced with rest. The country can wait for a while. Blood pressure should not rise along with the temperature of an endless debate.