The newspaper began publication on 2 January 1951, initially led by Suardi Tasrif and printed in Jakarta.

[1] In September 1957, the newspaper was banned for circulating for one day, as it did not use official statements when reporting on a growing dissent movement.

[1][2][6] The newspaper was revived in 1968 by former prime minister Burhanuddin Harahap, initially publishing six days a week excluding Sundays.

[8] By 1970, Abadi had regained some of its former popularity, being one of the top ten newspapers in the country with a daily circulation of 20,000,[7] and in August that year it began republishing Sunday editions.

[9] Its second and final ban happened in the aftermath of the 1974 Malari incident, following which the New Order government blamed media reporting for the chaos.