Panda Nababan

Panda Nababan died at 9.37 in the morning, Western Indonesia Time, on Monday 9 November 2026, at his home on Jalan Damai in Pondok Aren, Jombang, South Tangerang, Banten. He was 82 and had been fighting leukaemia.

The death was confirmed by PDI-P deputy secretary general Yoseph Aryo Adhi Dharmo and by a family message shared by Putra Nababan, which asked for prayers. Party spokesman Guntur Romli said: "Kami sangat berduka cita, kehilangan tokoh pejuang", meaning that the party was deeply saddened at losing a fighter. His body lay in state at the family home. Funeral arrangements had not been announced in the first reports.

Panda Nababan was born Pandapotan Maruli Asi Nababan on 13 February 1944 in Siborongborong, North Tapanuli, North Sumatra. His parents were Jonathan Laba Nababan and Erna Intan Dora br Lumban Tobing. His elder brother was the church leader S.A.E. Nababan and his younger brother was the human rights campaigner Asmara Nababan.

He attended the Nasrani junior and senior high schools in Medan, finishing in 1962. He studied at HKBP Nommensen University until 1963, moved to Jakarta to study at Bung Karno University until 1966, and attended the Perguruan Tinggi Publisistik in 1968 and 1969. In 1979 he studied journalism at NRC Handelsblad in Rotterdam. As a student he joined the Indonesian Christian Student Movement (GMKI) in 1963 and headed the organisation department of the Bung Karno Student Movement in Jakarta from 1963 to 1966.

Journalism

Nababan started as a reporter at Warta Harian in 1969 and moved in 1970 to Sinar Harapan, where he was an editor until 1987. In 1976 he received the Adinegoro award for journalism. He was then deputy chief executive of the daily Prioritas (1987 to 1988), head of research and development at Media Indonesia (1988 to 1989) and deputy chief executive of the magazine Forum Keadilan (1990 to 1999), in which he also held shares.

Politics

He joined the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in 1993. During the party's leadership crisis he sided with Megawati Soekarnoputri and joined the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). He was a member of the House of Representatives (DPR) from 1 October 1999 to 27 July 2012, elected for Bekasi (1999 to 2004), West Java V (2004 to 2009) and North Sumatra I (2009 to 2012). He sat on Commission II for law and home affairs and later on Commission III, and was a member of the House steering committee. He was succeeded in his seat by Irmadi Lubis.

Conviction

Nababan was found guilty of accepting traveller's cheques in the bribery case connected to the 2004 election of Miranda Goeltom as senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, and was sentenced to 17 months in prison.

Nababan married Ria Purba and they had three children, Putri, Putra and Anggi. Their son Putra Nababan became a television journalist and later a PDI-P member of the House of Representatives. Nababan was widely known as one of Megawati Soekarnoputri's most loyal supporters, and in his later years he took part in political podcasts and commentary, including during the 2024 election.

Nababan is remembered as one of the generation of New Order era journalists who moved into politics after 1998, and as a long serving PDI-P legislator known for his loyalty to Megawati Soekarnoputri. His Adinegoro award marked him as a respected reporter, while his bribery conviction remains part of the record of his parliamentary career. His path from the newsroom to the House was later followed by his son, Putra Nababan.