Maverick Indonesia

Farewell to Santi

It was such a shock. Last night I received a text message from my journalist friend in Kontan,

Agung. He informed me that Santi from Kompas, passed away last night. I knew that Santi has been battling with cancer since 2004 but I could hardly believe the news.

Tiur Santi Oktavia, Santi’s full name, was a fun person to talk to, she was a perfectionist. As far as I remember, every time she came to a news event, she was always asking questions that betrayed her natural curiosity about the event and things around her. This curiosity also drive her to do what good journalists do - double check her information and find other sources to corroborate the information or add their perspective to her stories that we all at Maverick agreed were always well researched and written.

The very last time I saw Santi was in February this year at Mitra Kelapa Gading hospital. She was warded there after she returned from Guangzhou, China, where she sought treatment for the cancer that was afflicting her. She was very optimistic that she could survive this second attack, “I could survive the first one, so there’s possibility that I can survive this one too,” said Santi laughing. Those were her last words to me.

My colleagues and I at Maverick send our deepest condolence to her husband, Daniel Siregar as well as her family and friends. We’ll miss you and always remember you Santi. Goodbye…