''Sinar Harapan'' (''Rays of Hope'') was an Indonesian

evening Evening is the period of a day that begins at the end of daylight and overlaps with the beginning of night. It generally indicates the period of time when the sun is close to the horizon and comprises the periods of civil, nautical and astronom ...

daily

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

published by PT Sinar Harapan Persada and is currently an online-only portal. First published on 27 April 1961, ''Sinar Harapan'' underwent several bans during both Old Order and New Order before the last ban in 1986 left the paper in vacuum for more than 10 years. The paper reappeared in 2001 after the

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

era, and published its last print issue on 31 December 2015.

History

Initial

Sinar Harapan was first published on April 27, 1961. The figures involved in the establishment of ''Sinar Harapan'' were Dr. Komang Makes, Lengkong, Ds. Roesman Moeljodwiatmoko, Simon Toreh, Prof. Dr. Soedarmo, J.B. Andries, Dr. J. Leimena, Supardi, Ds. Soesilo, Ds. Saroempaet, Soehardhi, Ds.S. Marantika, Darius Marpaung, Prof. Ds. J.L.Ch. Abineno, J.C.T. Simorangkir SH, Ds. W.J. Rumambi, H.G. Rorimpandey, Sahelangi, A.R.S.D. Ratulangi and Dra. Mrs. B. Simorangkir. H.G. Rorimpandey was appointed as the paper's first general manager. ''Sinar Harapan'' underwent several bans from the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

and

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

during its lifetime. On October 2, 1965 ''Sinar Harapan'' was banned so that the September 30 Movement was not freely exposed by the media, only certain media can be published. The ban was lifted and published again on October 8, 1965.

New Order and closure

In July 1970 the New Order government highlighted ''Sinar Harapan'' report that exposed Commission IV of the DPR report on corruption. The government considers that Sinar Harapan has violated the press code of ethics because it preceded the President, because the President's report was only to be read out by the President

Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

on his state speech on August 16, 1970. However, several parties praised ''Sinar Harapan'' for being superior in news getting. In this case, the Honorary Council of PWI concluded that they did not have sufficient reason to say that there was a violation of the press code of ethics by Sinar Harapan. In January 1972, Sinar Harapan again dealt with the Honorary Council of the Press because of its 31 December 1971 news. On 2 January 1973 the chief of Kopkamtib temporarily revoked the ''Sinar Harapan'' permit relating to the state annual budget plan reporting, the paper was allowed to publish again on 12 January 1973. In connection with the 1974 Malari incident, several media outlets were again banned, including ''Sinar Harapan''. On 20 January 1978 ''Sinar Harapan'' was ordered via telephone by

Kodam Jaya The Jayakarta Jaya Military Regional Command (); abbreviated Kodam Jaya is the military district of the Indonesian Army which covers the Greater Jakarta area. Its role is to protect and defend the capital city area with other additional tasks, s ...

Public Affairs Office (Pendam V Jaya) to not published for the next day, probably because its reporting on student activities which were deemed to heat up the political situation. On 4 February 1978, ''Sinar Harapan'' was allowed to publish again. What hit the hardest was the ban and, subsequently, cancellation of the press permit by the government on 9 October 1986 as a result of the headline "Government to Revoke 44 Trade Decree on Import Sector" published by ''Sinar Harapan'' a day before. After the ban, H.G. Rorimpandey continues to look for ways to be able to re-publish the paper. On 4 February 1987, after going through long negotiations with the government he was allowed to re-publish a newspaper, albeit with much difference from the former paper. ''

Suara Pembaruan ''Suara Pembaruan'' () was an Indonesian daily newspaper. Founded in 1987, it was one of the largest newspapers in Indonesia. ''Suara Pembaruan'' brand is owned by BeritaSatu Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Lippo Group, who also owned business da ...

'', the name of the new paper, was published with the new publisher PT Media Interaksi Utama and the new editors. The new paper has a quite similar concept from the previous paper, including its logo and section. The ban was forced ''Sinar Harapan'', as well as its publisher PT Sinar Kasih, to not publish it again, at least until the fall of New Order. Initially ''Sinar Harapan'' circulation was only about 7,500 copies, but jumped to 25,000 copies at the end of 1961. Over time ''Sinar Harapan'' continued to develop into a leading national newspaper and is known as "the king of evening newspaper". As an illustration, in 1985 ''Sinar Harapan'' had published around 250,000 copies per day. The original number of employees in 1961 was around 28, in 1986 the number increased to around 451.

Revival

''Sinar Harapan'' was published again on 2 July 2001 by H.G. Rorimpandey and Aristides Katoppo under the auspices of PT Sinar Harapan Persada. Even though it was "buried" for about 14 years, the revival of Sinar Harapan has received a positive response from various parties, including government elites, political elites, business people, professionals, advertising agencies to newspaper agents. Several journalistic awards have also been received by several ''Sinar Harapan'' journalists. While ''Sinar Harapan'' was revived, ''Suara Pembaruan'' remains in publication; since then both were competing each other as the evening newspaper. ''Sinar Harapan'' officially stopped print publication starting in 2016 due to problems with leaving investors in the paper. In the final edition on 31 December 2015, Daud Sinjal as the general manager says his farewell, gratitude and apologize to its loyal readers. Though the statement also announced the discontinuation of its online presence, in fact ''Sinar Harapan'' still retains its online portal until the present day.

References

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External links