Celebrating Jakob Oetama's Legacy: Kompas.com's 25th Anniversary

It was my first and only experience to receive a call from Jakob Oetama, the fond memory that I will always remember.

Especially after I remembered the story about how the situation was from January 20 to February 5, 1978, when the authorities shut down Kompas daily.

Soon after the Tetralogy of the Other Side of SBY was published, I came back to Jakarta in February 2011. In my duties as an editor at Kompas daily, I met Jakob Oetama more frequently during the editorial meetings.

The protective care of God

Jakob Oetama often attended the 9am editorial meeting. Although many participants attended the meetings, there was always one chair in the meeting room that would always be reserved for him. Even if he did not come, the chair was left empty.

When he attended the meetings, Jakob Oetama often opened for discussions. It began with a question to the chief editor followed by other questions to some editors he knew. His questions would often relate to the idea of “knitting the Archipelago, presenting Indonesia”.

In those meetings, the values that he believed in, lived, and fought for along the journey of Kompas daily were conveyed and instilled. His humility which was represented in a guiding principle of providentia dei (divine providence) was said softly.

Because of the divine providence (protective care of God), Jakob Oetama believed that everything that came to his life was not the result of his efforts alone. He believed it also happened in the Kompas Gramedia company. Divine providence is present.

In the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Kompas.com, which was founded on September 14, 1995, we want to keep his values alive in the midst of the journey that is full of changes. In doing so, we map out three stages.