Jakarta (ANTARA) - State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir extended his deepest condolences over the passing of Alwi Shahab, a senior Indonesian journalist who worked for ANTARA News Agency and Republika daily.

"Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rojiun (from Him we come from and to Him we return)," he said in a statement that ANTARA received in Jakarta on Thursday.

Born on August 31, 1936 in Jakarta, Alwi Shahab breathed his last at the age of 84 at his residence in the Condet neighborhood area of East Jakarta at 3 a.m. local time on Thursday.

Erick Thohir, the founder of the Mahaka Group which owns the Republika daily, praised Alwi Shahab as a highly-dedicated and professional journalist and a good person.

The death of the senior journalist, popularly known as "Abah Alwi”, is a huge loss for Republika, and for the world of journalism in the country, he said.

Before joining Republika, Alwi Shahab was renowned as a senior journalist with Indonesia's national news agency, ANTARA.

According to Wikipedia, he began his journalistic career with the Arabian Press Board news service in Jakarta in 1960. Three years later, he joined ANTARA, where he worked until his retirement in 1993.

Thereafter, he joined Republika. He was widely known among the daily newspaper's readers for his news reports and articles on the history of the Betawi (native Jakartans) and Jakarta. (INE)



EDITED BY INE

Translator: Zubi M, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2020