Rosihan Anwar (10 May 1922 – 14 April 2011) was a renowned

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n journalist and author. Rosihan Anwar was born in Kubang Nan Dua,

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 cen ...

. Rosihan received his early education at HIS and MULO in

Padang Padang () is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra. With a Census population of 1,015,000 as of 2022, it is the 16th most populous city in Indonesia and the most populous city on the west coast of Sumatra. Th ...

. He continued his studies at Algemene Middelbare School (AMS) in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

and often participated in journalism workshops at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. His career began as reporter in ''

Asia Raja ''Asia Raya'' (also spelled ''Asia-Raja''; 'Grand Asia') was a newspaper published in the Dutch East Indies (modern day Indonesia) during the Japanese occupation. Background When the Japanese Empire occupied the Dutch East Indies in 1942, they ...

'' newspaper during the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Invasion of Indonesia. In 1947, he founded ''Siasat'' magazine. He was also the founder and editor of ''

Pedoman ''Pedoman'' (''Guide'') was an Indonesian daily newspaper. It was the main organ of the Socialist Party of Indonesia. Rosihan Anwar was the editor of the paper. As of 1960, it had a daily circulation of around 53,000.Braunthal, Julius (ed). ''Yea ...

'' newspaper, which was twice forcibly closed by

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader ...

regime (1961) and Suharto's New Order administration (1974), because of its vocal criticism of the authoritarian regime. Rosihan also acted in several movies such as Lagi-lagi Krisis (Crisis Again), Karmila, and Tjoet Nja’ Dien

Rosihan Anwar was not interested in power, but was more a man of conscience and culture. He wrote critiques in local and foreign media. He was one of the founders of the National Film Company (Perfani). He was well known as a writer, and published 30 books and wrote hundreds of articles, mostly in Indonesian. The last book he wrote, ''Petite Histoire Indonesia,'' is about Indonesian history. He also translated

Jose Rizal Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya * Jose the Gali ...

's poem My Last Farewell into

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesia ...

, and it was recited by the soldiers of Indonesian independence before going to battle. Rosihan Anwar died in Jakarta on 14 April 2011, of heart failure due to old age

External links

indonesia.com
1922 births 2011 deaths Indonesian Muslims Minangkabau people Indonesian journalists Indonesian newspaper editors Newspaper editors from the Dutch East Indies {{indonesia-journalist-stub