“I am a Journalist”
Journalism and personality are two things that cannot be separated from Jakob Oetama. So, it is impossible to talk about Pak Jakob\'s journalism without talking about his personality.
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General Manager of Kompas Daily, Jakob Oetama (center) during a hearing with DPR members on November 27, 1989.
Journalism and personality are two things that cannot be separated from Jakob Oetama. So, it is impossible to talk about Pak Jakob\'s journalism without talking about his personality. The following story may offer a glimpse into who Pak Jakob was.
Whenever he went to Yogyakarta, Pak Jakob almost always asked Hermanu, a colleague who worked at Bentara Budaya, to pick him up. Several times, I joined Hermanu to pick him up from Adisutjipto Airport. The Bentara Budaya vehicle was just an old Taft jeep. Pak Jakob sat in the front seat of the car, which was not air-conditioned.