Sabam Pandapotan Siagian (4 May 1932 – 3 June 2016) was an Indonesian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. He served as the first

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

The Jakarta Post ''The Jakarta Post'' is a daily English-language newspaper in Indonesia. The paper is owned by PT Niskala Media Tenggara and based in the nation's capital, Jakarta. ''The Jakarta Post'' started as a collaboration between four Indonesian med ...

''. Siagian departed the ''Jakarta Post'' in 1991 upon his appointment as Ambassador of Indonesia to Australia. From 1991 to 1995, while ambassador, Sabam lived in Canberra. He criticised the Australian media for lagging behind other sectors in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

when it came to engaging with Indonesia. After leaving Canberra in 1995, Sabam joined the board of ''Jakarta Post''. Sabam died in Jakarta on 3 June 2016 after extended health complications. Numerous colleagues, including former Indonesian foreign minister

Hassan Wirajuda Noer Hassan Wirajuda (born July 9, 1948 in Tangerang, West Java, Indonesia) is an Indonesian politician who was the foreign minister of Indonesia from 2001 to 2009. He served during the presidencies of Megawati Sukarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yud ...

, paid tribute to his contributions during a long career as a journalist in Indonesia.

References

1932 births 2016 deaths The Jakarta Post people Indonesian newspaper editors Indonesian journalists Indonesian diplomats Ambassadors of Indonesia to Australia People of Batak descent {{Indonesia-journalist-stub