Jitet Koestana was born in 1967. He is the founder of the Indonesian Gold Pencil Foundation. Actively participating in international cartoon exhibitions and contests. Father of four and undoubtedly the best known and most renowned cartoonist of his country. However, he had no ambition at all to become a cartoonist and he seemed to grow up as a youngster without a future. 

Once he got to the years of understanding, he got a little money from his parents to get started as a salesman of secondhand books. While waiting for customers, he had a lot of time to read, and that became his hobby. He also met Slamet Baijuri, a cartoonist who introduced him to the cartoon world of Semarang. He learned how to draw cartoons, which paper to use, which ink, how to participate in cartoon competitions. It did not do him any harm, because he already won more than two hundred prizes in cartoon competitions all over the world. 

His very first cartoon was sent to a local cartoon contest in 1987: a poor mother who tried to feed her starving child. However, the cartoon was not accepted by the censorship that prevailed in Indonesia at that time under Suharto. Later that year however his first work was published in a local newspaper Suara Merdeka. Several other magazines and newspapers followed, until he found a permanent place in the national Indonesian newspaper 'Kompas National Daily', where he then worked under the direction of another great Indonesian cartoonist GM Sudarta. 

He is also a judge on international cartoon contests held in a number of countries. Jitet is an accomplished cartoonist who holds the MURI record with the most international cartoon awards. Currently Jitet has collected more than 200 international awards.