Day of Remembrance: 100 Years of Rosihan Anwar
- Antara/ Fanny Octavianus
VoxPop – One hundred years ago, a journalist, historian, and humanist, Rosihan Anwar was born. He was also awarded the Mahaputra III Star.
The legend Rosihan was born in West Sumatra, on May 10, 1922. Families and friends celebrated the Century of Rosihan Anwar. There are a number of activities held online, ranging from prayers, tahlil, and stories about Rosihan on May 10, 2022.
Rosihan is the fourth of ten children, the couple of Anwar Maharaja Sutan and Siti Safiah. His father was a demang in Padang, West Coast of Sumatra.
He completed public school and junior high school of MULO in Padang. Then, he continued his education at AMS-A in Yogyakarta, now known as 1 Yogyakarta SHS.
Then, Rosihan took part in various trainings at home and abroad. Some places abroad that Rosihan has visited for training are Yale University and the School of Journalism at Columbia University, New York City, United States.
Rosihan started his career as a journalist at the age of 20. It was the period of Japanese occupation in Indonesia. The beginning of his struggle began to liberate Indonesia from all forms of colonialism and oppression from foreign nations and their own people.
Rosihan started his journalistic career as a reporter in Asia Raya during the Japanese occupation in 1943. From 1945 until 1946, he was the editor of Harian Merdeka. Rosihan was also the founder and was editor-in-chief of Siasat magazine from 1947 to 1957 and Harian Guidelines from 1948 to 1961 and 1968 to 1974.
As a journalist, Rosihan has carved out many historical moments for Indonesia. One of them was when he rode a motorbike with Suharto, who at that time was still a Lieutenant Colonel, met General Sudirman to prepare for the March 1, 1949 Oemoem Attack in Yogyakarta.
In the history of the National press, Rosihan co-founded the PWI in Solo on February 9, 1946. In his career as a journalist, Rosihan was known as the head of the press and the Ayatollah Reporter of Indonesia.
