PK Ojong, Man of Action and Law State
On 25 July 2020, Petrus Kanisius Ojong, one of the founders of Kompas daily, would have been 100 years old. For those who know PK Ojong, he was not just a teacher, journalist, avid reader and lifelong learner.
Petrus Kanisius Ojong
On 25 July 2020, Petrus Kanisius Ojong, one of the founders of Kompas daily, would have been 100 years old. For those who know PK Ojong, he was not just a teacher, journalist, avid reader and lifelong learner. He also sowed seeds of human values with a deep concern for human rights, the rule of law and democracy.
Ojong\'s attention to issues of human rights, law and democracy was not only in speech and writing. Ojong, according to his colleague Jakob Oetama, who was also a founder of Kompas, was a man of action.
"His assistance was never just in words, always accompanied by actions, concrete steps. That is one of his characteristics: people who do, a man of action, a charity man. And the act was never half-done,” wrote Jakob in Kompas, on 2 June 1980, two days after Ojong\'s departure.
PK Ojong died at his home on 31 May 1980. The book The Birth of The Messiah by Raymond Brown laid on the table next to the bed. The book was left open with glasses on it.
Ojong was also a journalist, a member of the press that was also one of the pillars of democracy.
Ojong, as recalled by people who had been touched by his humanitarian work, paid great attention to legal and human rights issues. Such description eventually shows his belief in democratic values. Ojong was also a journalist, a member of the press that was also one of the pillars of democracy.
Arief Budiman, a social activist who was also an academic, in his article in Kompas, 9 July 1980, told us, in 1966, Ojong always supported student groups. The event that Arief remembered was when the poet Taufiq Ismail showed a collection of his poems titled Tirani (Tyranny) and needed help to reproduce the poems.
"I went to Pak Ojong, and without hesitation, he donated papers to print those poems. That\'s how Tirani became a poem for student struggle in 1966," wrote Arief, who died in April 2020.
Petrus Kanisius Ojong
Arief sees Ojong as a warrior intellectual. He did not hesitate to help others even though Ojong lived a simple life. His care for others was based on his defense of the values of justice and humanity. He, for example, once visited Arief\'s wife who was sad because Arief was arrested by the authorities at that time. The authorities did not disclose where Arief was detained.
Ojong and his wife, Catherine, visited Leila, Arief Budiman\'s wife, in Jakarta. Ojong\'s visit was written in Kompas, on 31 Jan. 1972. Ojong questioned the arbitrary detention, which he thought violated human rights. The prohibition for families to meet or communicate with detainees was also considered to be in conflict with the UN Charter of Human Rights which applies universally.
On other occassions, Ojong paid attention to other detainees, such as H Princen, Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung, Mochtar Lubis, HR Darsono and Mohamad Roem. Ojong regularly visited and brought books and scripts they needed for academic purposes and spent time while in prison.
Ojong was also one of the founders and a member of the Board of Curators/Trustees of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH), which is now the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI).
LBH was established through the decision of the Central Board of the Indonesian Lawyers Association (Peradin), on 26 October 1970. LBH was born thanks to the idea of Adnan Buyung Nasution who wanted to defend the poor.
In his work as a member of the LBH Board of Trustees, Ojong accompanied Buyung along with several other members of the LBH Board of Trustees to meet with the law enforcement. On 4 Feb. 1972, for example, Kompas reported on the front page about Ojong\'s visit with
Adnan Buyung Nasution and other members of the Board of Trustees of LBH, including Mochtar Lubis, Lukman Wiriadinata, Besar Martokusumo, Yap Thiam Hien and Sudarsono, to the office of the Supreme Court head Prof. Subekti .
They discussed the development of the law in the country, among others, regarding the right of lawyers to stand in court, legal assistance for suspects as long as the detained suspects were still under investigation, and the extension of detention period without a letter from the judge.
Arbitrary detention and arrest of a number of people by law enforcement officials was the concern of LBH at that time. LBH urged for clarity about the mechanism of summons and the reasons for detention must be based on law.
In an article written by Buyung to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Kompas, on 28 June 2015, Buyung said, "Pak Ojong, as I call him, supports the ideals of LBH. He told me that I would support any business aimed at defending the poor, the oppressed and the persecuted. He believes every citizen needs protection of human rights, regardless of religion, ethnicity, class and descent. Thus, PK Ojong has since had a high commitment in the recognition and protection of human rights. For that service and commitment, I enshrined the name PK Ojong as the name of one of the rooms at the LBH building. "
Indonesian Ambassador to Norway Todung Mulya Lubis attended the LBH Board of Trustees meeting several times, which was attended by Ojong. "The person didn\'t talk much. When he talked, his words were powerful and the person was very open, warm. However, Pak Ojong was not an orator, in contrast to Pak Yap [Yap Thiam Hien], who when speaking arousing emotions, powerful and enthusiastic. Pak Ojong gave coolness, a perspective," he said when contacted from Jakarta, on Monday (20/7/2020).
Ojong was considered to represent an Indonesian perspective that was not linear because he was able to place a discourse in a holistic context.
Todung joined LBH in 1971. As a young LBH staff member, Todung observed the discussion of senior figures in the LBH Board of Trustees. Ojong was considered to represent an Indonesian perspective that was not linear because he was able to place a discourse in a holistic context.
"In the context of the rule of law, Pak Ojong gave contribution. In his position as a journalist, he presented a perspective. There is no freedom of the press without democracy. No development can work without the rule of law. Well, he supports LBH in the perspective of thinking like that. His presence as a journalist provided sociological support for the existence of LBH," he said.
At present, according to Todung, LBH or other civil society groups need people with souls and concerns like Ojong.
Relevance of the struggle
YLBHI chairwoman Asfinawati said the LBH or YLBHI movement reached its peak and developed very well when collaborating with figures or parties across fields. "The media has a very important role as a pillar of democracy. Likewise, the academics and other elements. LBH does not only see the media as a news organization, but also as friends to advocate those who are marginalized, and that role was played well by past time journalists, including Pak Ojong," she said.
Jakarta LBH chairman Arif Maulana added the name PK Ojong in one of the rooms at the LBH office on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, was a form of institutional appreciation to senior figures who supported and nurtured LBH in those early days.
Even today, civil society groups, such as LBH, still need the fighting spirit and care from figures who are willing to cultivate democratic values, human rights protection and the ideals of the rule of law.
"The challenge may be different because the times are changing, but people like PK Ojong will continue to be needed in this country," Arif said.
