Dja Endar Moeda
by Ahmat B. Adam
THE VERNACULAR PRESS AND THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN INDONESIAN
CONCIOUSNESS
(1855-1913)
Southeast Asia Program
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
1995
Dja Endar Moeda's Newspapers
Dja Endar Moeda's name as a full-time journalist first appeared
when he became editor of the Pertja Barat around 1894 or 1895.
At the beginning of the twentieth century he sat on the editorial
board of the journal Insulinde. Dja Endar Moeda alias Haji
Moehamad Saleh (116) was a Batak, born in Padang Sidempuan
in 1861.(117) He had probably attended a Dutch school which
enabled him to study at the Teachers' Training School in Padang
Sidempuan. He graduated in 1884 and was posted to Air Bangis
as an assistant teacher. He was later promoted to become the
head teacher at Batahan in the district of Natal. It was while
holding this position that he became corresponding-editor for
the monthly pedagogical journal Soeloeh Pengadjar which was
founded in Probolinggo in 1887. From Batahan he was transferred
to Singkil in Sumatra's West Coast. He left for the pilgrimage
to Mecca in 1892. On his return from the haj in 1893, Dja Endar
Moeda decided to reside in Kota Padang. By this time he had
retired from government service and had begun his own private
school. At about the same time he took a job as the editor
of Pertja Barat which was founded in 1894 by Lie Bian Goan.(118)
In 1900 when the Snelpersdrukkerij published Insulinde and
Tapian na Oeli, Dja Endar Moeda sat on the editorial boards
of both publications as editor-in-chief. Through the Pertja
Barat Dja Endar Moeda made a name for himself as a bold editor.
His writings and his honest criticisms of the Binnenlandsche
Bestuur officials earned him the respect of Dutch journalists
who were serving on the Sumatra Courant.(119) Gradually, from
his position as editor he managed to gain a foothold in the
Insulinde Press by becoming one of its shareholders. In 1905
when the press was to be sold, Dja Endar Moeda bought it and
started what became the first native-owned press in Sumatra.
Sharp as a journalist, Dja Enda also had a calculating business
sense. When the Pertja Barat's popularity was established he
expanded his business into retail trade by setting up a shop
which he named "Toko Pertja Barat."
Dja Endar Moeda
Dja Endar Moeda's interest in the press business led him to venture
into founding other newspapers. In 1906 he started the twice-weekly
Pemberita Atjeh (120) [Atjeh Gazette] which was published at
Kuta Raja, Aceh, and in 1908 he restarted the Warta Berita
which had collapsed the year before.(121) His publishing house
also published in that same year the monthly periodical Minangkabau,
with himself as the chief editor. However, this periodical
appeared only for a short time. Business prospects cannot have
seemed good to Dja Endar because, by the end of 1909, Pemberita
Atjeh was forced to cease publication, its existence made more
difficult by the fact that another newspaper was circulating
in Kuta Raja in 1907. Sinar Atjeh [Ray of Atjeh] was published
by the Sinar Atjeh Company under the editorship of Lim Soen
Hwat, a peranakan, but it managed to survive only up to July
30, 1908. (122) Pemberita Atjeh existed three years only. Like
Sinar Atjeh, it never really succeeded in attracting enough
readers or acquiring a sufficient number of regular subscribers
to support its existence.
Having failed in Aceh, Dja Endar Moeda went to Medan to set
up the Sjarikat Tapanuli, another printing house, together
with
some Batak businessmen.This publication firm had a press of its
own, and in January 1910 it published the Pewarta Deli [Deli
Reporter] which also had Dja Endar Moeda as its editor-in-chief,
with Kamarudin, his son, as sub-editor. Prospects for Pewarta
Deli appeared bright because, following the death of Pemberita
Atjeh, Kuta Raja was left without a newspaper of its own. Thus
Achenese readers could subscribe only to Pewarta Deli. But for
reasons which remain unclear, Dja Endar Moeda seems to have fallen
out with major shareholders of the company. His relationship
with the Sjarikat Tapanuli became strained,(123) and after a
brief stay with the company he and his son left Medan. Next,
he was reported to have made a second attempt to found a newspaper
in Aceh. On June1,1911 Bintang Atjeh [Star of Atjeh] made its
maiden appearance in Kuta Raja bearing Dja Endar Moeda's name
as editor-in-chief.(124) How long this paper managed to continue
is unknown, but it cannot have survived beyond 1913 reference
to its existence had ceased by then. Dja Endar Moeda's untiring
efforts earned him the reputation as one of the pioneers of the
indigenous press in Sumatra. Like Datoek Soetan Maharadja, he
had a deep interest in journalism, so deep that both men decided
to give up their government posts to venture into the press business;
as founders of their own printing houses, as dedicated editors,
and as bold social critics.
In comparing Datoek Soetan Maharadja and Dja Endar Moeda as editors
and publishers, it is clear that Datoek Soetan Maharadja was
more a social reformer, while Dja Endar Moeda was the more deeply
involved in journalism and the native press industry. Yet Dja
Endar also wrote propagandistic articles calling upon the indigenous
people to strive for Western education and progress, even though
he was not as active in organizational work as Datoek Soetan
Maharadja. Of all the newspapers edited by Dja Endar Moeda, Pertja
Barat remained the most influential and lasted the longest. The
paper was popular not only in Padang but also in Java. Its pages
were filled with news of events both in and around Padang and
also those occurring in Java. Reports on the formation of the
Journalists' Union and the Teachers' Union in Sumatra were also
published. The paper's financial strength may be ascertained
from the large number of columns allocated for advertisements.(125)
To attract readers, Pertja Barat serialized short stories or
hikayat. That its circulation was relatively large was indicated
by the fact that it had two editors in 1911 and several correspondents
contributing articles or news.(126) While Dja Endar Moeda's name
appeared as chief editor and owner of the paper, it was his brother,
Dja Endar Bongsoe, who actually worked as the resident editor.(127)
Pertja Barat's attitude toward the other Padang papers was predictably
unfriendly because of the competitive market all native newspapers
had to face. In its role as a propaganda-maker for Indonesians,
however, it was similar to the others. The question of education
for native girls and indigenous people in Sumatra in general
provoked discussion and debate among its readers.(128) While
urging native people to adopt the industrious habits of the Chinese
in order to pursue progress, Pertja Barat, like Oetoesan Melajoe,
was at times racially hostile toward the Chinese.(129) As late
as mid-1911, Pertja Barat could still appear three times weekly.
It had undergone few changes, though on July 1, 1911 it began
to publish its first printed pictures. Things were proceeding
smoothly for the Pertja Barat press when Dja Endar Moeda finally
became a victim of the press law.(130) Following this incident,
Pertja Barat announced in its No. 88 edition on July 27, 1911
that a Journalists' Union would be "formed in due course
in Padang. Its aim, the paper revealed, would be to encourage
editors to write articles "which would expose the corrupt
and immoral behaviour of the priyayi [officials] in dealing with
the people."(131) The representative editor of Pertja Barat,
Dja Endar Bongsoe, was to be the first president of the proposed
union, because he was one of those who had mooted such an idea.(132)
However, on August 11, 1911, Dja Endar Bongsoe died suddenly,
shattering the hope of forming the Journalists' Union. It was
also a tremendous blow to Dja Endar Moeda, who had lost a dear
brother and a reliable assistant to run his business and newspaper
in Padang.
On August 15, 1911, Dja Endar Moeda's son, Kamaruddin,(133) assumed
the post of sub-editor of the Pertja Barat, but things were never
the same again for his press. Following the loss of Dja Endar
Bongsoe, the management of Pertja Barat slackened.(134) In order
to inject new life into the paper, Dja Endar Moeda employed Sidi
Maharadja to serve as its editor from November 1, 1911,(135)
while Kamaruddin bin Dja Endar Moeda was to assist him. But Pertja
Barat did not fare any better under this new arrangement. By
1912 the paper had ceased to appear in Padang. Its lifespan of
a little more than two decades had finally ended, terminating
the story of a vernacular newspaper that had seen the passing
of the old century and the dawning of the new.
By 1913, Padang had become a flourishing center of the Malay-language
press. The large number of newspapers appearing there confronted
publishers with a very competitive market, compelling them to
rely heavily on advertisements for financial support for their
papers. It was, therefore, not unusual for a newspaper to have
a greater number of pages allocated to advertisements than to
news and articles.(136) Newspapers which failed to woo a sufficient
number of advertisers could easily be forced out of circulation.
This was exactly what happened to newspapers which catered solely
for a native readership and sectarian groups. The most viable
and financially most stable newspapers were inevitably those
of the Chinese-controlled press, whose sources of advertisement
were many and were guaranteed by the existence of a large community
of Chinese businessmen and traders. As for the indigenous press,
competition with the Chinese-backed press was extremely stiff
and it was not unusual for them to suffer financial setbacks
whenever subscription dues were not promptly paid. Native newspapers
were always faced with a shortage of revolving funds which posed
a constant threat to their circulation. Of a total of ten newspapers
circulating in Padang in 1913,(137) only the Oetoesan Melajoe
and Soenting Melajoe could be said to be strong enough to withstand
competition from the Chinese press. Al-Moenir, the organ of the
radical ulama, was forced to suspend publication temporarily
in 1913 (138) and when it was re-established it survived only
up to 1915. (139) The Soeara Melajoe lingered on until 1914,
having existed only for a year after the closure of its predecessor,
the Soeara Rakjat.(140) The same fate was suffered by the Soeloeh
Malajoe, published by Datoek Soetan Maharadja, which had entered
the market as a means to counter the kaum muda ulama from the
Al-Moenir group. Another attempt to start a religious periodical
was made in 1913, when Al-Achbar (141) was produced on April
8, 1913 from the printing press of Al-Moenir. A weekly periodical
which appeared every Tuesday, it was edited by Abdul Madjid gelar
Bagindo Sinaro,,with Haji Alias of of Java as its correspondent-editor.
Although Islamic in orientation, it was less radical than Al-Moenir
or AI-Imam of Singapore.(142) However, with its sectarian appeal,
it could attract only a tiny readership and thus was unable to
survive for long. For this reason it was not until 1918 that
Padang saw the appearance of another religious journal.
The vernacular press in other Sumatran towns
In other towns, namely Medan, Kuta Raja, Sibolga, and Palembang,
the native press of this period was less concerned than its
precursors about racial polemics or propaganda making. By 1913
there were
only two newspapers in Medan. Unlike Padang, Medan did not
seem to attract newspaper publishers. In the nineteenth century
there
had been no attempt to found a vernacular paper there. Its
first vernacular newspaper was Pertja Timoer [Eastern Sumatra],
which
made its appearance in August 1902 from the press of J. Hallerman.(143)
Among those who served as editors of Pertja Timoer until its
cessation in 1912 were Chatib Radja Soetan [1902], Mangaradja
Salambowe [1904],(144) Soetan Malenggang, and Moesa. Appearing
on Monday and Thursday of each week, Pertja Timoer for almost
a decade, was the only paper catering to Malay-speaking readers
in East and North Sumatra. It had four pages, two of advertisements.
(145) The paper had columns for stories, readers' letters,
and news from Europe. Cable news was taken from the Sumatra
Post.
In late 1909, on the initiative of Dja Endar Moeda, a printing
press called Sjarikat Tapanuli was set up in Medan. By January
1910, the first newspaper from the printing house, Pewarta
Deli, began to appear on every Wednesday and Saturday.(146)
Dja Endar
Moeda assumed the post of chief editor while Soetan Malenggang
was the paper's administrator.(147) As previously mentioned,
Kamaruddin, Dja Endar Moeda's son, subsequently became the
sub-editor.
________________________________________
116 see Bintang Barat, No. 186 (August 14,1894).
117 Materials for the biography of Dja Endar Moeda were mostly
obtained from the Bintang Hindia, No. 15 (July 25, 1903). In
1903 Dja Endar Moeda's age was given as "about forty-two
years old."
118 See Chapter IV, pp. 69-70 above. In 1898 the Pertja Barat
was published by the Sumatra Courant and one year later I.N.A.H.
Chateline Sr. took over its publication. In 1900, however, it
was published and printed by the Snelpersdrukkerij-Insulinde
which also published the journal Insulinde.
119 Selompret Melajoe, No. 14 (February 3, 1898).
120 This was the first native paper ever published in Aceh. It
was published in the Malay language with Dja Endar Moeda as editor.
While serving the Pemberita Atjeh he traveled up and down between
Kuta Raja and Padang.
121 Sinar Atjeh, No. 22 (March 19, 1908). There is, however,
no evidence to show that the paper survived longer than a year.
The Warta Berita's name was mentioned in Koloniaal Verslag 1910.
This means that it expired some time in 1909.
122 The paper collapsed because many subscribers had not paid
up their subcriptions. See Sinar Atjeh, No. 56 Quly 30, 1908).
123 This was apparent from the contents of the Pertja Barat when
referring to the Sjarikat Tapanuli in late 1911. The impression
given is that the editor of the Pertja Barat was not on t. best
of terms with the editor of the Pewarta Deli and the Tapanuli
Company.
124 Pertja Barat, No. 65 (June 3, 1911). The subcription rate
of the Bintang Atjeh was fl. 6,- per annum which meant that it
was a twice-weekly newspaper. The paper was said to contain "articles
on politics and stories of ancient times."
125 Out of four pages, more than two were allocated for advertisements.
126 Its circulation could be roughly estimated as around 1,000
copies for each edition, which was the average circulation for
a popularly read paper.
127 This was because Dja Endar Moeda had moved to Aceh (Kuta
Raja). See Pertja Barat, No. 51 (April 29, 1911). His brother,
Abdoel Kahar gelar Dja Endar Bongsoe, was also an able journalist.
He was educated at the government school at Padang Sidempuan.
Lim Soen Hin, the editor of Sinar Sumatra, was a schoolmate of
his. Ibid., No. 103 (September 2, 1911).
128 Selompret Metajoe, No. 60 (May 19, 1906). See also Pertja
Barat, No. 56 (May 11, 1911) and ibid., No. 94 (August 10, 1911).
129 In No. 137 of the paper (date unkown), the Chinese were accused
of being extortioners of the natives. The Pertja Barat also lamented
about the fact that there were not many native organs (newspapers).
See "Press Review" in Koloniaal Tijdschrift, 1911-1912,
p. 105.
130 It is not known on what charges he was prosecuted but most
likely on grounds of defamation of character or sedition. Dja
Endar Moeda was remanded in jail for two months. Other editors
facing similar offences were: Sidi Maharadja, Maharadja B., and
Soetan Radja nan Gadang. They were all detained "like criminals." See
Pertja Barat, No. 82 (July 13, 1911).
131 Ibid., No. 88 (July, 27, 1911).
132 Ibid., No. 99 (August 22,1911).
133 He was previously editor of Pewarta Deli. Pertja Barat, No.
96 (August 15, 1911).
134 This was admitted by Dja Endar Moeda himself. See Pertja
Barat, No. 127 (October 31, 1911).
135 Sidi Maharadja's full name was Marah Mohammad Joenoes gelar
Sidi Maharadja. His title Sidi implies that he was of Arab descent.
He was formerly editor of Bintang Tionghoa but had resigned.
Pertja Barat, No. 127 (October 31, 1911).
136 The Warta Hindia, for example, had eight pages but only two
were allocated for news and articles, while the rest were reserved
for advertisements. The same was true of Sinar Sumatra, another
Chinese-owned newspaper.
137 See Appendix F.
138 According to the Koloniaal Verslag of 1914 the Al-Moenir
was out of circulation in 1913.
139 Junus, Sedjarah Islam, p. 47. A journal of the same name
was started at Padang Panjang in 1918. Ibid., p. 48.
140 The Soeara Melajoe had racial undertones vis-a-vis the Chinese
in the articles it published, and because of that it had to rely
only on the native readership, thus limiting its market.
141 There is no evidence to support Taufik Abdullah's contention
that the AI-Achbar was published by the anti-modernist orthodox
ulama. See Abdullah, "Minangkabau 1900-1927," p. 89.
The AI-Achbar was in fact produced at the Al-Moenir press.
142 Its motto was:
Long live the government of Holland.
May the Indies have fame
May the natives progress
May Islam live forever.
Its articles ranged from the question of education and moral
behavior, to news about Islam in different parts of the world
and about Europeans. The war between Turkey and Bulgaria was
also closely reported. The periodical also published poetry and
other works of literature.
143 J. Hallerman was of German descent. He was founder of the
Dutch newspaper, De Sumatra Post in Medan in 1899. He served
as publisher and printer of the Pertja Timoer in its infant stage.
Muhammad Said, "Sedjarah Persuratkabaran di Medan dan Peranannja," in
Merdeka, May 20, 1972.
144 Mangaradja Salambowe first served as administrator of the
Pertja Timoer but this post was taken over by. J. Hallerman in
1904 when Salambowe himself became editor.
145 The subscription rate was fl.6,- per year or 7 1/2 cents
per copy. For subscribers outside the Indies the rate was fl.8,-
per annum. The rate for one advertisement was seventy five cents
for 1-5 lines with an addition of ten cents if it appeared more
than once.
146 Pewarta Deli, No. 19 (March 8,1910).
147 After Dja Endar Moeda left, he assumed the post of editor.
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