Parada Harahap

Last updated

Parada Harahap (born 1899 in Sipirok, Dutch East Indies, died 1959 in Jakarta) was an important journalist and writer from the late colonial period and early independence era in Indonesia. In the 1930s, he was called the "king of the Java press". [1] He pioneered a new kind of politically neutral Malay language newspaper in the 1930s which would cater to the rising middle class of the Indies. [1]

Contents

Biography

Early life

Parada was born on December 15, 1899, into a Batak family in Pargarutan, Sipirok, South Tapanuli Regency, Dutch East Indies, now part of North Sumatra province in Indonesia. Although most Batak people are Christians, Harahap was a Muslim Batak. [2] He was largely self-taught and an enthusiastic reader from a young age, mainly reading materials sent to him by his sister who lived in Bukittinggi. [3] However, he did also get a formal education, studying at the Teacher's Training School (Kweekschool) in Bukittinggi. [4] At the age of 15 he became a clerk at a rubber plantation Rubber Cultuur Mij. Amsterdam in the Jambi area of Sumatra. [3] During his teen years he gained an interest in newspapers, subscribing to Pewarta Deli and Andalas, and often writing letters to Soetan Palindoengan, editor of Pewarta Deli. [4]

Newspaper career

Harahap's career in newspapers started in 1918 when he became editor of Sinar Merdeka in Padang, as well as editor of a Batak language paper in Sibolga called Poestaka. [4] During this time he was also active in the Sarekat Islam in Padang. [4]

In 1922 Harahap relocated from Sumatra to Java. He started as a low-level printing assistant at Sin Po in Batavia. [3] With the recommendation of some Sumatran journalist notables, he then became head editor of a competing paper, Neratja. [4] There, he learned a lot about the business from Abdul Muis, Agus Salim and Djojosoediro. [4] After 9 months there he launched his own newspaper, Bintang Hindia. [3]

He soon expanded his news holdings, founding the wire service Algemene Pers en Nieuws Agentschaap (Alpena). [3] He then founded a series of new papers: Bintang Timoer, Djawa Barat, Sinar Pasundan, Semangat, as well as Dutch-language De Volks Courant. [3] Of those papers, Bintang Timoer, launched in September 1926, [5] quickly became the most successful, not least due to the popular writing of Abdoel Rivai. [3] Even before its first issue, the Dutch language newspaper Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië was already recommending it to "the natives" due to Harahap's reputation for hard work and dedication to good journalism. [6] The editorial lineup in the first year, aside from Harahap, were G. Soetadipradja, Kadar, Hatnid and Abdullah Badjrei. [7] The paper noted that Bintang Timoer would be independent of any religious or political faction, and that it had a more modern layout than most Malay language papers, with illustrations and more space given to content. [7] Since the paper was not involving itself in politics, it even promised that while "the importance of Indonesia will be kept in mind, since no party interests are served, Indonesia will be understood as a 'geographical concept' not in the meaning of a 'political concept'." [8] That type of statement symbolizes his attitude in the late 1920s and 1930s, that newspapers are a business not a political movement, and accepting Dutch rule in the Indies rather than using the newspaper to fight it. [1]

During this time Harahap involved himself in Indies journalism in many important ways. In 1924 he translated the Dutch penal code sections about journalism from Dutch into Malay. [4] In 1925 Harahap also helped organize a new association for Asian journalists in the Indies called the Journalistenbond Azie (Associations of Journalists of Asia). [1] Mohammad Tabrani from Hindia Baroe and Kwee Kek Beng from Sin Po were on the executive board, with Wage Rudolf Supratman as chairman. [1]

Bintang Timur, his newspaper, apparently resumed publication in early 1953 after being unable to publish during World War II and the Indonesian National Revolution. [9] Under its new guise in independent Indonesia, Harahap became president-director and head editor, and promised that the paper would have a "national progressive" line and to present the news in a responsible and neutral manner. [10]

In 1956 Harahap was appointed dean of a new college for journalism and political science in Jakarta, the Perguruan Tinggi Ilmu Kewartawanan dan Politik or Akademi Wartawan, supported by the Yayasan Ibnu Chaldun, a foundation run by various Muslim figures in the city. [11]

Harahap died on May 11, 1959, in Jakarta.

Selected works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djamaluddin Adinegoro</span>

Djamaluddin Adinegoro was an Indonesian press pioneer. He is known as a reporter, writer, and political analyst. Through his writing in various newspapers, Adinegoro has made a great contribution in developing journalism and the Indonesian language. His name was immortalized as a journalism award in Indonesia: the Adinegoro Award. Djamaluddin was a younger half-brother of Muhammad Yamin.

<i>Pikiran Rakyat</i>

Pikiran Rakyat is a daily newspaper published in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Its circulation covers West Java and Banten Province.

Abdoel Rivai was an Indonesian physician, journalist, and supporter of Indonesian independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andjar Asmara</span> Indonesian dramatist and filmmaker

Abisin Abbas, better known by his pseudonym Andjar Asmara, was a dramatist and filmmaker active in the cinema of the Dutch East Indies. Born in Alahan Panjang, West Sumatra, he first worked as a reporter in Batavia. He became a writer for the Padangsche Opera in Padang, where he developed a new, dialogue-centric style, which later spread throughout the region. After returning to Batavia in 1929, he spent over a year as a theatre and film critic. In 1930 he joined the Dardanella touring troupe as a writer. He went to India in an unsuccessful bid to film his stage play Dr Samsi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. M. Sipahoetar</span>

Albert Manoempak Sipahoetar was an Indonesian journalist and one of the founders of the state news agency Antara. Born in Tarutung, Dutch East Indies, he took up journalism at an early age and by age 20 had led two publications. After a time working in Medan, he went to the capital at Batavia with Adam Malik. After dabbling in politics and advertising, he established Antara together with three other reporters, heading the agency for a year between 1938 and 1939. Although he remained active as a reporter after leaving the agency, his health failed quickly and he died in a sanatorium near Yogyakarta.

Bintang Timur, also spelled Bintang Timoer before 1947, was a popular daily newspaper published in the Dutch East Indies and Indonesia.

<i>Djawa Tengah</i>

Djawa Tengah was a major Malay-language peranakan Chinese daily newspaper in Semarang, Dutch East Indies from 1909 to 1938. It is said to have been the first Chinese newspaper in Semarang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tjhoen Tjhioe</span>

Tjhoen Tjhioe was a Malay language Peranakan Chinese newspaper from Surabaya, Dutch East Indies catering mainly to the Chinese population. The full title of the paper was Tjhoen Tjhioe: Soerat kabar dagang bahasa Melajoe jang moeat roepa kabar penting bagi bangsa Tionghoa. Although the paper only existed for a short time, during that time it was recognized as one of the top Chinese newspapers in the Indies, alongside Sin Po and Perniagaan.

<i>Tjahaja Timoer</i> (newspaper) Malay-language Peranakan newspaper

Tjahaja Timoer was a Malay-language Peranakan newspaper printed in Malang, Dutch East Indies, from 1907 to 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië</span> Dutch-language newspaper

Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië was a Dutch language newspaper which was published in Semarang, Dutch East Indies from 1924 to 1942.

Evert Jansen was a newspaper editor, journalist and politician from the Dutch East Indies. From the 1910s to the 1940s, he was editor of a number of major papers including De Locomotief, Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad, Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië, and De Indische Courant.

Warna Warta was a Malay language Peranakan Chinese newspaper published in Semarang, Dutch East Indies from 1902 to 1933. Alongside its more popular rival Djawa Tengah, it was highly influential among the Chinese Indonesian population of Semarang during this time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selompret Melajoe</span> Newspaper

Selompret Melajoe was one of the first Malay language newspapers to publish in the Dutch East Indies. It was printed in Semarang, Central Java from 1860 to 1920.

The Indonesian Fascist Party was a short-lived Fascist political party founded in Bandung, Dutch East Indies in the summer of 1933 by a Javanese economist and politician named Notonindito. Although it did not last long and is poorly documented, it is often cited as an example of how European Fascist ideas could manifest themselves in an Asian context, as well as appearing in conspiracy literature exaggerating its importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saadah Alim</span>

Saadah Alim (1897-1968) was a writer, playwright, translator, journalist and educator in the Dutch East Indies and in Indonesia after independence. She was one of only a handful of Indonesian women authors to be published during the colonial period, alongside Fatimah Hasan Delais, Sariamin Ismail, Soewarsih Djojopoespito and a few others. She is known primarily for her journalism, her collection of short stories Taman Penghibur Hati (1941), and her comedic play Pembalasannya (1940).

<i>Pewarta Deli</i> Dutch East Indies newspaper

Pewarta Deli was a Malay language newspaper published in Medan, Dutch East Indies from 1910 until 1941, and again from 1945–6. During its run the paper became a strident anti-colonial voice, sympathetic to the Sarekat Islam and Indonesian nationalism and critical of the cruelty of big business in Medan's tobacco and plantation industries. It also gave space in its pages to Communism and Islamic modernism. The paper had a wide readership in its time, with an influence not only in the Indies, but also among Malays in British Malaya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jong Batak Bond</span> Intellectual organisation in the Dutch East Indies

Jong Batak Bond, sometimes simply called Jong Batak, was a short-lived but influential Batak intellectual organization founded in Batavia, Dutch East Indies in December 1925. Like Budi Utomo, Jong Java and other such organizations, its members consisted of native Indonesian students in Dutch-language schools interested in advancing their ethnic group and Indonesian nationalism at the same time. Notable members of the group include Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap, Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia Harahap, Sanusi Pane, Saleh Said Harahap and Arifin Harahap.

Lintong Mulia Sitorus, in pre-1948 spelling Lintong Moelia Sitoroes, was an Indonesian intellectual, writer, translator, lawyer, and Socialist Party of Indonesia politician. He was a key follower of the independent-minded Indonesian nationalist Sutan Sjahrir in the 1940s and 1950s.

Censorship in the Dutch East Indies was significantly stricter than in the Netherlands, as the freedom of the press guaranteed in the Constitution of the Netherlands did not apply in the country's overseas colonies. Before the twentieth century, official censorship focused mainly on Dutch-language materials, aiming at protecting the trade and business interests of the colony and the reputation of colonial officials. In the early twentieth century, with the rise of Indonesian nationalism, censorship also encompassed materials printed in local languages such as Malay and Javanese, and enacted a repressive system of arrests, surveillance and deportations to combat anti-colonial sentiment.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Yamamoto, Nobuto (2011). The Chinese connection: Rewriting journalism and social categories in Indonesian history. Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 98–9. ISBN   9789004191211.
  2. ↑ Simatupang, T.B. (1996). The fallacy of a myth. Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan. p. 52. ISBN   9794163589.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Firdausi, Fadrik Aziz. "Parada Harahap: Sejarah Hidup si Raja Media Pembela Para Kuli". tirto.id (in Indonesian). Tirto. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Yamamoto, Nobuto (2019). Censorship in colonial Indonesia, 1901-1942. Brill. p. 131. ISBN   9789004412408.
  5. ↑ "Journalistiek". De Indische courant. 15 July 1926.
  6. ↑ "De "Bintang-Timoer"". Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). July 15, 1926.
  7. 1 2 "De "Bintang Timoer"". Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indië (in Dutch). August 4, 1926.
  8. ↑ "De "Bintang Timoer."". De Indische courant. 6 August 1926.
  9. ↑ ""Bintang Timur"". Het nieuwsblad voor Sumatra. 20 February 1953.
  10. ↑ "Bintang Timur". De nieuwsgier. 18 February 1953.
  11. ↑ "Nieuwe hogeschool in Djakarta Ibnu Oud dun wenst gezonde journalistiek te bevorderen". Java-bode : nieuws, handels- en advertentieblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie. 12 June 1956.
  12. ↑ "Nieuwe uitgaven Toradja door Parada Harahap. Cityave N.V. Uitgeverij W. van Hoeve-Bandung, 's Gravenhage. Prijs Rp. 8.75". De nieuwsgier. 9 April 1953.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.