48.GROin

By all accounts, 1998 was the watershed year for photojournalism in Indonesia. As a photojournalist, picture editor and chairman of Pewarta Foto Indonesia, Arbain Ram bey was right in the thick of things. By Zhuang Wubin

THE Asian bubble burst in 1997. That

year, foreign investors left the region together

with the euphoria that had accompanied

the economic boom through much of the

8os and 90s. lt would take a full year before

the impact was felt in Indonesia. And it

would eventually have a hand in the removal

of President Suharto.

In many ways, 1998 was the watershed for

Indonesia's history. While disgruntled

Indonesians took over the streets, hordes

of young photojournalists were "at the

frontline" , dodging batons and bullets,

covering the melee that eventually led to

incidents of rape and looting targeted at

wealthy Javanese and ethnic Chinese.

At the same time, journalism in Indonesia

was undergoing a revolution. Under the

reign of Suharto, press freedom was

curtailed. There were written and unwritten

codes that editors had to abide by.

newspaper has to use a picture of the event

on the front page," Arbain Rambey recalls.

"You can't even use it on the second page."

Needless to say, it led to boring journalism.

But everything came crumbling down in

1998.

Things fall apart

Like any other photojournalist, Arbain was

out on the streets photographing the

mayhem. He was then, as he is now, the

photo editor and chief photographer for

Kompas, Indonesia's largest national daily.

Instead of concentrating on the rioters who

were clenching fists and waving flags, he

looked the other way.

"In every loud and 'glamourous' situation,

there is a smaller and subtler counterpoint,"

states 43-year-old Arbain Rambey at the

lobby of my budget hotel along Jalan Jaksa,

Jakarta. "In 1998 and 1999, a lot of banks

"Whenever Suharto attends an event, every went bankrupt. I quickly zoomed in on the

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expressions of the jobless employees and

the customers who were waiting blankly to

withdraw their money."

During that period of time, Arbain also had

an opportunity to observe how foreign

photojournalists worked as they flocked

onto the streets of Jakarta, eager to make

a name for themselves. According to Arbain,

James Nachtwey was the standout.

Using only a 17mm or a 2omm lens, James

Nachtwey tried to get as close to his subjects

as possible to make dramatic pictures.

Once, Arbain asked James for his motto

and his reply was: "If you're afraid, don't

be a photojournalist."

"In November 1998, James was

photographing in the morning, only to return

with his head and hands badly injured by

police batons," Arbain continues. "By

afternoon, he was up and running again,

wearing bandages and a helmet, taking

pictures with the rest of us!"

Of course, the subsequent administrations

of B. J. Habibie and Gus Our helped ease

the restrictions on the press. When Suharto

was in power, a journalist had to put on a

suit just to get into his presidential palace.

After Gus Our was elected as the president

in 1999, a journalist could get in with

Bermudas. No doubt it was disrespectful

to do so, but it did help in debunking the

myth that the president was holy and

untouchable.

Habibie, despite having very close ties with

Suharto, was an avid photographer and a

Leica collector. In late 1998, the president

even found time to hold a photo exhibition

on clouds. Therefore, it was hardly surprising

that he was much closer to the

photojournalists as compared to Suharto.

In December 1998, President Habibie even

SO . GROin

invited members from Pewarta Foto

Indonesia (Organization of Indonesian

photojournalists, otherwise known as PFI)

to his residency.

As the founder and chairman of PFI till

2001, Arbain did not visit the president with

the rest of the members.

"lt's important that I don't look like I'm in

agreement with the president even though

I have nothing against him," Arbain explains.

"PFI needs to remain neutral."

Championing the cause of photojoumalists

During Suharto, there was only one press

association known as Persatuan Wartawan

Indonesia PFI. And it offered little protection

to the photojournalists.

"In many ways, the photojournalist has a

harder job than the journalist," Arbain

comments. "Whenever there's a riot, a

photojournalist has to be out there, braving

the danger to document the incident,

whereas a journalist can file a story from

his desk in the office."

In case you are wondering if Arbain is biased

against the journalist, it is assuring to know

that he actually started out as a sports

journalist for Kompas in 1990.

In his first year at Kompas, Kartono Ryadi

-the photo editor then -was so convinced that Arbain would do a good job as a reporter

and photojournalist that he promptly sent him to the 1991 Manila Games. A self-professed

Michael Jordan fan, Arbain complains he has never met the legend, despite having a few

opportunities to travel to the NBA games in America. lt was only when Arbain was

promoted to the picture editor in 1996 - leaving him more or less desk-bound - when

Jordan made his comeback. In any case, Arbain stayed at the beat for six years. And

Kartono is the one whom Arbain credits for kick-starting his career in photojournalism,

teaching him all about composition and the importance of having a striking image.

In 2000, Arbain was even assigned to head the North Sumatra bureau, where he stayed

till 2003. Therefore, he is more than credible to comment on the state of journalism in

Indonesia.

But back in 1998, Arbain was busy working out a way to channel their strength in numbers

into an organization that represented the photojournalists in Indonesia. That was how

PFI was born.

"At that time, whenever photojournalists were attacked by the army, PFI would threaten

to sue General Wiranto, who headed the military till Feb 2ooo,"Arbain recalls, on "Sensing

that we were serious, General Wiranto changed his approach and offered to pay for all

the destroyed cameras. We helped by requiring PFI members to wear a big name tag for

notification."

Therefore, the basic function of PFI is "to protect the rights of the photo journalist to take

pictures in the public sphere".

lt also helps in weeding out "black

photojournalists" who earn money by

representing PFI illegally. They are

infamously known as wartawan Bodrex

(wartawan means photographer, Bodrex

refers to a popular medicine for headaches

made by a German company).

Tilting the balance back

And so, in the short space of a year, the

liberation of the press seemed almost

complete. In the early part of 1998, the

government was infuriated when the

papers placed on the front page a picture

of the president looking terribly forlorn,

signing an agreement with the IMF as a

bullish-looking Michel Camdessus stood

beside him. By the end of the year,

Indonesians could easily find pornography

on the streets of Jakarta.

"Looking back, having absolute press

freedom is not all good, but I see it as

part of the liberation process," Arbain

elaborates. "There was a point when

papers would put the most sensational

and sadistic images on the front page.

They would take a picture of a police

being cut up into two and play it up. But

it soon reached a point when readers

started to alienate from such content."

lt was a natural progression then to the

period of reflection. Editors and

photojournalists around Indonesia would

soon incorporate the notion of elegance,

acquired by flipping through Time,

Newsweek or Far Eastern Economic Review,

into their work. Needless to say, the

proliferation of pornography died away,

as with tasteless editing.

"And I think we have the right balance

now," beams Arbain Rambey.

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