May 20, 2014 edition

Ismail Marzuki (1914-1958) died at the age of 44 from pleurisy.
During his life, the composer from Jakarta produced around 200 pieces of music whose themes range from nationalism to social critique to love. Even today, songs like Juwita Malam (Maiden of the Night) and Aryati still remain sweet to Indonesians' ears. May 11 marked Ismail's 100th birthday. An orchestra played his music to commemorate the event. In the following articles, Tempo traces Ismail's life, including the cause of his death.
Ismail's family believes his pleurisy worsened due a saxophone borrowed from a friend with which he often practiced.
Some also accused him of plagiarism.

Read More

More Intermezzo articles in other editions

January 1, 1970 edition

From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, Siauw Giok Tjhan was an active figure in promoting the integration of ethnic Chinese into Indonesian society. Siauw believed that the Chinese who had lived in Indonesia for generations deserved to be recognized as an ethnic group equal in status to the Javanese, Sundanese, Malays, Bataks, Ambonese and Papuans.
For Siauw, integration did not mean that Chinese Indonesians should have to give up their heritage and traditions. To promote this vision, on March 13, 1954 he established the Indonesian Citizenship Consultative Body (Baperki), which went on to establish many schools.
Baperki also established Indonesia's first private university, Baperki University, which later became Res Publica University. Under Siauw's leadership, Baperki formed ties with Sukarno's government, which was leftist-oriented. After the tragedy of the September 30 Movement, for which leftist elements were blamed, a mob burned down Res Publica campus in Grogol on October 15, 1965. March 23 this year marks 100 years of Siauw's birth. In this issue, Tempo features Siauw's life story, an eyewitness testimony on the torching of Res Publica University.

Read More

Independent journalism needs public support. By subscribing to Tempo, you will contribute to our ongoing efforts to produce accurate, in-depth and reliable information. We believe that you and everyone else can make all the right decisions if you receive correct and complete information. For this reason, since its establishment on March 6, 1971, Tempo has been and will always be committed to hard-hitting investigative journalism. For the public and the Republic.