Rahmat Riyadi, Loyally Dedicated to Humor

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Rahmat Riyadi

Although he once likened humorous strip cartoons to mere bread crumbs, Rahmat Riyadi, 75, has succeeded in circulating them for half a century in various distinguished media, including the 38-year-old Timun strip cartoons in the Sunday edition of Kompas. Rahmat is loyally dedicated to the path of humor.

Rahmat showed one of his strip cartoons published in the daily Indonesia Raya in 1973, exactly 50 years ago. This daily was prominent due to its various critical political reports along with penetrating investigations.

“For one year, my strip cartoons were published daily in Indonesia Raya. Social issues were preferred,” said Rahmat on Tuesday (14/2/2023), when preparing the Timun Strip Cartoon Exhibition, A Parody of Our Country, at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Central Jakarta. The exhibition was held on 16-23 February 2023, presenting hundreds of Timun strip cartoons that had been printed in Kompas besides dozens of Rahmat’s illustrations, made since his wife, Darmuji Ningsih, died on 7 July 2020.

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Timun strip cartoons in Kompas are not very different from the cartoons in Indonesia Raya. However, the ones in Indonesia Raya were not named. Their social criticism was forthright, with satirical humor.

One day, Rahmat criticized the low salary of teachers. In the strip cartoon published by Indonesia Raya in 1973, Rahmat portrayed a classroom scene. In the first box he drew an empty blackboard. The teacher is to the side, drawn with a cynical face, giving the instruction, “It’s a fine writing exercise. Mat Jorok, come forward!”

In the next frame, the teacher’s face is no longer cynical; he is now all smiles. He says, “Hah? Your handwriting is very nice this time!!”

The teacher smiles because the writing reflects what he craves: teachers’ salary increase.

In fact, the letters of Mat Jorok’s writing are not uniform and not well arranged. Some are erect, others roman typed. A letter that may be incorrect has been crossed out. The written words read, “The government will improve teachers’ salary.”

The teacher smiles because the writing reflects what he craves: teachers’ salary increase.

It was humor in the service of social critique, created by Rahmat when he was 26 years old. Rahmat was born in Pekalongan, Central Java, in October, 1947.

He finished elementary to senior high school in Pekalongan. After graduating from senior high school in 1967, Rahmat studied civil engineering at Atma Jaya University in Yogyakarta. Two years later, he decided to quit college and went to Jakarta to try his luck.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Rahmat Riyadi

Various professions

Rahmat worked as a journalist, photographer and film screenplay writer. During his spare time, Rahmat drew humorous strip cartoons and sent them to various printed media for publication. Therefore, he called cartoons bread crumbs, because making strip cartoons was not his main job. For the sake of his dedication to humor, Rahmat has continued creating strip cartoons until today.

A Timun strip cartoon published in Kompas reveals his strong intention to always generate humor. Rahmat drew Timun, his wife Delima and a son named Terong.

Rahmat designed the atmosphere of Idul Fitri. Timun and Delima ask for sincere forgiveness. So does Terong. But Terong says, “I’m sorry if we are not funny!” Terong represents Rahmat’s mind.

Daily experience

Rahmat’s taste for humor has been nurtured since childhood. His father, Sampe, was fond of cracking jokes in the family. “My father frequently told humorous stories about his daily experience,” said Rahmat. His mother laughed tearfully in response. His younger sister even laughed to the point of urinating involuntarily. All of them were laughing, including Rahmat.

“Such things happened repeatedly. My father was even occasionally asked to tell funny tales, everywhere,” recalled Rahmat.

My father liked drawing, too. I was also drawing frequently as a child.

Rahmat felt he was growing up to be the same way. Joking would make people around him amused and happy. With his drawing skill, Rahmat finally chose his father’s path of humor, making people laugh and feel happy as they peruse his pictures.

“My father liked drawing, too. I was also drawing frequently as a child. In junior high school, I once finished as runner-up at a drawing competition in Pekalongan,” said Rahmat.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

A number of comic strips and solo comics by Rahmat Riyadi's Timun cartoon character were exhibited under the title "Parody of Our Country" at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Jakarta, Thursday (16/2/2023). This exhibition is also the 38th anniversary of the Cucumber Cartoon in Kompas Daily.

His college years in Yogyakarta finally determined the direction of his life. He lived in a dormitory with a library, where he regularly gained access to foreign magazines.

Rahmat translated articles in foreign magazines into Indonesian. Then he sent them to printed media, especially in Jakarta. Rahmat sent his cartoons for publication in Jakarta’s printed media as well.

“I earned honorariums from the articles and cartoons,” said Rahmat, who in his early period in Jakarta applied for a cartoonist’s job, but was rejected.

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Rahmat later applied for the same job at Ekspres magazine. But the vacancy available was only for a reporter. Rahmat was accepted as a reporter for Ekspres and worked for three years in Jakarta. Although a news journalist, his enthusiasm for drawing never waned. At home, after work, every afternoon Rahmat was drawing. Then he applied to Indonesia Raya and was accepted. From 1973 he created strip cartoons every day for Indonesia Raya until the daily was banned.

He supplied the cartoons for Kawanku magazine in 1976-1992, at the same time serving as a Berita Yudha daily journalist. In 1981, Rahmat moved to Gramedia Film and became a screenplay writer for feature-length films. There he met Dwi Koen, the strip cartoonist of Panji Koming for Kompas.

Invited by Dwi Koen, Rahmat began to draw Timun cartoons in Kompas on 27 January 1985 and has continued the job until today. Even after retiring in 2008, he was requested to make strip cartoons for the animation of the short cartoon Bang One on TV One. “It turned out that there were also bread crumbs on television,” said Rahmat, who remains loyal to the path of humor.

Rahmat Riyadi

Born: Pekalongan, 20 October 1947

Education:

- 1967-1969: Civil Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Atma Jaya University, Yogyakarta (not finished)

Occupation:

- 1985-present: Timun strip-cartoon designer for Kompas

- 1981-2008: Gramedia group

- 1976-1992: Tomat strip-cartoon designer for Kawanku magazine

- 1973-1974: strip-cartoon designer for Indonesia Raya

- 1970-1973: Journalist for Ekspres magazine, Jakarta

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.