HK Indonesian newspaper expands to Macau

Nanang Junaedi

The publisher of the Hong Kong Indonesian newspaper Apakabar Plus has expanded its operations to Macau launching Apakabar Makau in September. The Times spoke to the chief editor of Apakabar Makau, Nanang Junaedi. In an e-mail interview, Mr Junaedi talked about the reasons behind Apakabar’s expansion to Macau and the readership in the city.
The chief editor said that Apakabar Makau [apa kabar means ‘how are you doing’ in Bahasa Indonesia] has so far issued two editions – September and October 2014.  For the moment, the newspaper will be issued once a month, although it is not for sale. Instead, it is distributed free of charge through Indonesian shops in Macau.
“Apakabar Makau aims to inform, educate and entertain our readers. In addition we hope that the newspaper can foster, in the same spirit as Apakabar Plus, connecting relationships between Indonesian migrant workers and their families in Indonesia.  For that reason information is not only provided about Macau and Hong Kong but also about Indonesia, especially information relating to workers’ home towns,” Mr Junaedi said.
When asked about the decision to expand to Macau, Mr Junaedi said that apart from being a common destination for Indonesian people looking for entertainment, Macau is also a place where they go looking for work. “Indonesians in Macau work in many different sectors: domestic helpers, shop assistants, restaurant staff, casino staff and hospital employees,” he said.
He also reckoned that it is not difficult to publish a newspaper in Macau. “In this era of information technology, publication of newspapers is not difficult anywhere. But for the moment, the printing will be done by Apple in Hong Kong, alongside Apakabar Plus that has been in publication since 2006.” The chief editor has also expressed his wish to print the Macau edition locally in future.
Nanang Junaedi said that the target market of Apakabar Makau is the 5,000 Indonesian people who work in the territory. “This is not a large number but it is a ‘captive market’ and is expected to grow steadily over the years,” he predicted.
As sister newspapers, Apa-
kabar Makau and Apakabar Plus do share some content, but MR Junaedi said that the Macau paper has its own exclusive local content as well. “Because Indonesia does not have a separate diplomatic representative office in Macau, news and information from the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong will be shared by both newspapers.  But there will also be local content pertinent to Macau,” he said.
The chief editor also revealed that Apakabar does plan to further expand its media business to cover more areas in the future. “We aim to be the leader in Indonesian media overseas, including Macau. We don’t have the monetary capital of Rupert Murdoch but we have plenty of spirit to make up for it. We are small now but we think big,” he declared.