When the Kompas newspaper introduced an award with the word “scholar” in 2008, there was no intention of oversimplifying the term “scholar”. Kompas also did not want to become trapped in the discourse of differentiating between scholars, intellectuals, observers, experts, academic scholars and non-academic scholars.
The initiator of this award, Kompas president commissioner Jakob Oetama, initially only wanted to express his gratitude to the newspaper’s writers and contributors for pages 4-5, which was later moved to pages 6-7. Appreciation was also given to those that persevered in their respective expertise and wanted to share it with the people amid a lack of media exposure.
In 2009, the name of the award changed from “Committed Scholars” to “Dedicated Scholars”. The selection criteria have been expanded to a wider range of roles to include not only contributors and people with special expertise as well as the permanent columnists, but also those that served as Kompas sources.
Presented on the day of Kompas’ anniversary, the award has been bestowed on 43 individuals from 2008 to 2016. Today, some of those recipients are still actively writing, researching and acting as sources, but there are also some that have faded away due to old age, while others have passed away (book: Kompas Scholar Award 2008-2016, Jakarta: 2016).
Of the host of famous western thinkers, there are some who define a scholar as an intellectual with a conscience – not only instinct – in facing the situation of their people (Roberto Mitchels, Intellectual, 1949). His opinion is not too different from that of other great thinkers, such as Benda, Vaclav, Gramsci and even Kant. The difference lies in the way of communicating it, which is through writing.
According to Daoed Yoesoef, a recipient of the 2012 Dedicated Scholars award, intellectual groups in principle are people whose concerns and ideas for humanity go far beyond their profession and job. They are always inspired and always ready to criticize socio-cultural order and government structures (Kompas, January 8, 1999).
Based on the very short explanation of scholars and intellectuals above, it is suggested that their position is one that always takes the quiet road, stays in opposition to power and takes the dangerous path. Its goal is a respect for human dignity and humanity. The medium is not through violence or party politics, but through common understanding.
This simple conclusion emphasizes that Kompas’ Dedicated Scholar does not have to be an academic, nor a productive writer or source, but could also be someone from outside of that group.
They could also be bureaucrats like law enforcement officials that uphold justice (in the true sense of the term, not only procedurally), those that provide advocacy amid public confusion or researchers that diligently support democratization based on a rational analysis and sides with humans and humanity.
With this in mind, after a team headed by Jakob Oetama went through an assessment process, the Kompas Dedicated Scholar award this year goes to H Adi Andojo Soetjipto, 85, Sawitri Supardi Sadarjoen, 74, and J Kristiadi, 71.