Thoughts for Press Day

Thoughts for Press Day

Once again Indonesia is marking its National Press Day with a string of special events. This year those formalities are concentrated in the city of Surakarta, Central Java.

Although we are well aware of the fact that a good deal of skepticism exists in certain parts of our society as to the state of our national press -- and hence about the real significance of National Press Day -- there can be little doubt about the significance of this year's commemoration of the event.

To freshen our memories, National Press Day marks the day the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) was born under very extraordinary circumstances.

The date was Feb. 9, 1946, and the newly proclaimed Republic of Indonesia was barely six months old. The very survival of the infant Republic was being threatened -- not only by the modern military might of the Netherlands, which was seeking to regain its hold over what had been the Netherlands East Indies, but by armed rebellions by dissident splinter pro-independence groups. The atmosphere in Surakarta, like that in all other cities in areas under the republic's jurisdiction, was that of a beleaguered city.

It was under such circumstances that a number of senior Indonesian journalists took it upon themselves to call together a conference to set up an organization that would be representative of the spirit of the national Indonesian press. Thus the Indonesian Journalists Association was born.

Although the creation of the new association did not really mark the birth of an indigenous freedom-oriented Indonesian press -- that had existed even before the emergency of the independence movement -- it nevertheless underscored and reinforced the link that had always existed between the indigenous Indonesian media and the freedom movement.

Now, as at the time of its birth, it is the objective of the Indonesian Journalists Association to preserve that flame of idealism.

The question is: Now that conditions are changed, what role is there for the national Indonesian press to assume in helping to fulfill the current collective aspirations of the nation?

We believe that the answer to that question is obvious. In the years that lie ahead, one of the major challenges which will face this nation is how to keep abreast of and benefit from the dramatic changes which the age of information and globalization is sure to bring.

There has been much talk lately about the need for this country to prepare a new generation of leaders with vision in order to be able to cope with the drastically changed conditions of the coming new age. Indonesians, young Indonesians in particular, have to be prepared to cope with the surging tide of change and to use it to their nation's advantage. The huge technological advances that have been made, the increasing complexity of the social, economic and political problems that confront us and the ever expanding linkage of interests among nations demand the capability, and the willingness, on our part to listen to the novel views, thoughts and ideas which reach us from all directions.

Indonesians of the new generation must be prepared to effectively answer the challenges of the coming age.

The national press can be of great help in making that process smoother and less painful. But, in order for the Indonesian press to function effectively and responsibly in this task, it must have the necessary leeway. We believe it to be the task of the contemporary national Indonesian press and everybody else concerned, for that matter, to ponder this question with the seriousness it deserves in the days that are ahead.