Senior journalist and Post founder dies

The Jakarta Post | Headlines | Sun, March 24 2013, 9:36 AM

Farewell: Willy Septiana (second right), the wife of veteran journalist and founder of The
Jakarta Post Muhammad Chudori, and his daughter, author Leila S. Chudori, scatter flower
petals on his grave at Karet Bivak public cemetery in Central Jakarta. (JP/P. J. Leo)
Senior journalist and one of The Jakarta Post founders, Muhammad Chudori, died at his
home in Bogor, West Java, on Saturday. He was 86.
He was buried at the Karet Bivak Cemetery in Central Jakarta the same day.
His daughter, Leila S. Chudori, a senior journalist with Tempo magazine, said Chudoris
physical health had failed since he broke his femur in a fall.
He needed to have two operations on his thigh and his health had been worsening since,
she said as quoted by tempo.co.
Born in Indramayu on Dec. 24, 1926, Chudori worked at the Antara news agency from 1956
to 1983, covering in economic issues and foreign policy.
He was recognized by the Ministry of Information for his years of service to journalist in
1997.
Chudori helped found The Jakarta Post after his retirement from Antara in 1983 and was
named the first general manager.

He played a pivotal role in the early difficult years of the Post, a role not forgotten and
acknowledged by the first editor in chief Sabam Siagian.
We all came from different backgrounds. It was not easy as general manager in these
circumstances with the task of producing a quality newspaper.
Muhammad Chudori was once the Antara bureau chief in the Netherlands and was the eldest
among us. He would listen patiently to our various arguments and endure our idiosyncrasies
and gradually forged a working team, Sabam recalled. I think that was his biggest
achievement.
Meanwhile, Vincent Lingga, a senior editor and former managing editor of the Post, fondly
remembers Chudori from before his time at the Post.
I first met and knew Chudori in early 1967 when I joined Antara. He was a senior editor in
charge of economic development news in general, he said.
Chudori was well known for his warmth and friendliness and was also very active in
diplomatic circles in Jakarta.
According to Vincent, Chudori was fully informed on the governments economic policymaking process and was so trusted by Soehartos chief economics minister Widjojo Nitisastro
that he was often included in the delegation to the annual meeting of the Inter-Governmental
Group for Indonesia (IGGI) in The Hague.
No wonder then that from the late 1960s until the 1970s, Chudori was considered the
spokesman for the Indonesian delegation to the IGGI creditor consortium, he said.
Current Post editor in chief Meidyatama Suryodiningrat also paid homage saying it was
ironic that Muhammad Chudori passed away just a month before the Post celebrated its 30th
anniversary.
Pak Chudori was part of the founding generation of the Post. Without them, I would not be
here, he said. Many of the new generation of journalists at the Post may not have known
him personally, but the legacy of the Posts founders will never be forgotten. JP

Budi Gunawan vows to improve spy agency

Marguerite Afra Sapiie
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta | Wed, September 7 2016 | 04:09 pm
National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan delivers his plans during a
confirmation hearing over his nomination as the new chief of the National Intelligence
Agency (BIN) at the House of Representatives' Commission I overseeing defense and foreign
affairs on Sept. 7.(JP/Seto Wardhana)

Topics

BIN intelligence Comr-Gen-Budi-Gunawan

The sole candidate for the spy chief position, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, vows to improve
State Intelligence Agency (BIN) performance in order to optimize the agency's role in the
protection of national security.
The National Police deputy chief said during the confirmation hearing at the House of
Representatives' Commission I overseeing security and foreign affairs that he aimed to
improve BIN's professionalism, objectivity and integrity should he take helm of the agency as

the country's coordinator of intelligence affairs. He also wants to improve some aspects of
BIN so that the agency could play a greater role in facing new global challenges.
"External threats that endanger national security are getting more complex, asymmetrical and
have no certain patterns. BIN should improve its performance to make a better early detection
system to prevent and tackle any threats that can endanger our national security," Budi told
lawmakers on Wednesday.
Several external threats include the political tension at the South China Sea, drug trafficking,
cyber war, conflicts at bordering areas, terrorism financing and also the rapid spread of
radical ideologies that have endangered the country's well-being, he added.
Aside from improving early detection mechanisms and related equipment, the optimization of
BIN's performance would also consist of the improvement of BIN personnel capacity,
resolving management and operating issues, as well as reforming organizational culture, Budi
went on.
He also expressed plans to maximize the agency's role in eliminating potential threats by
supporting government development programs in line with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's
Nawacita, the administration's nine-point development agenda. (rin)

Only 99 refugee seekers remain in East

Aceh camp

Liza Yosephine.The Jakarta Post Jakarta | Wed, September 7 2016 | 11:46 am

Newly arrived Rohingya migrants take a shower at their temporary shelter in Bayeun, Aceh
province, on May 21, 2015.(AP/Binsar Bakkara)

Topics
Only 99 Rohingya refugee seekers remain in East Acehs refugee camp out of the 409 that
arrived on shore last year, an official has confirmed.
"We have received reports that the immigrants flee by deceiving the guards on ground. There
are some who leave at night by crossing the river behind the refugee camp," Aceh legislative
councilor Iskandar Usman Al-Farlaky said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com
Iskandar visited the refugee camp in Bayeun, in the district of Rantau Selamat. He suspected
that the refugee seekers had run away to Malaysia. He expressed his worry they may fall
victim to human trafficking.
Iskandar called on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International
Organization Migration (IOM) to decide the final destination country for the Rohingya
refugee seekers.
"There needs to be certainty," he said, adding that he did not meet any representatives of the
UNHCR or IOM during his visit to the camp. He stressed the urgency to ensure a third
country for the refugee seekers.Indonesia has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention. But
the country has voluntary resettled and repatriated boat people from Myanmar and other
countries. Indonesia is considered a transit country for refugees en route to destination
countries such as Australia. (liz/bbn)