Jakarta, IO – Known as a courageous and militant figure does not make Mochtar Lubis, a prominent figure in journalism and chief editor of the Indonesian Raya Daily, far from compassionate. This has become one of the things that impress Maya, one of Mochtar Lubis’s grandchildren, when she recalls the life lessons passed down by her grandfather.
Her close relationship to Mochtar made her not hesitate to call him “father,” instead of grandfather. She admitted that she emulates the exemplary editor’s behaviour to always stand for the truth. “I have yet to find a figure like father. It’s hard to find someone like my grandfather,” said Maya in a webinar “Mochtar Lubis’s 100th Anniversary: Power and Literature.”
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The message from Mochtar Lubis, whom she called humanist, still rang in his ears. “We must have integrity, tell the truth and don’t disseminate falsehood. In life we should not always look up, but instead look down and always be grateful. We have to be honest,” she said.