By effectively eliminating state control of print media, the 1999 Press Law redefined Indonesian press–government relations. After tracing the events and negotiations leading up to the historic passage of the Press Law, and noting the contradictions between it and the criminal defamation provisions of the Penal Code, this study concludes with a brief discussion of what might have motivated some of the players to become unlikely “heroes” of press freedom. It ends with a comment on the importance of the passage of the 1999 Press Law in securing lasting reform.