Broadcasting bill review plan draws mixed responses<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government's insistence on having the
\nbroadcasting bill deliberated again in the House of
\nRepresentatives drew mixed responses yesterday.<\/p>\n
Former minister of information Harmoko said he welcomed the
\nunprecedented plan because he saw nothing wrong with it.<\/p>\n
"It (the second deliberation) is normal in this country's law
\nmaking process," said Harmoko, who represented the government
\nduring the bill's deliberation last year.<\/p>\n
Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono said Wednesday that
\nPresident Soeharto had refused to enact the bill because some of
\nits content was considered unfeasible. The bill was passed by the
\nHouse last December after seven months of deliberation.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono said that Soeharto would write to House Speaker
\nWahono soon to ask for a review of problematic clauses, which do
\nnot allow national TV stations to broadcast to more than half the
\ncountry's population and require TV stations to renew their
\nlicenses every five years.<\/p>\n
Minister of Information Hartono said yesterday that beside the
\nclause on broadcasting coverage and license renewal, the
\ngovernment wanted foreign programs be dubbed in English instead
\nof Bahasa Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Harmoko, Golkar's chairman, led the party to its sixth
\nsuccessive win in the May 29 general election.<\/p>\n
Harmoko said yesterday that he had ordered Golkar legislators
\nto discuss the bill's amendment.<\/p>\n
Golkar legislator Oka Mahendra said the House should learn
\nfrom the planned second deliberation to improve its quality.<\/p>\n
"House members should have the courage to confess their
\ncarelessness. In future they must have more wisdom before passing
\na bill so that such discrepancies do not happen again," Oka said.<\/p>\n
He said the House had no reference on how to deliberate the
\nbill for a second time because a bill had never been returned to
\nthe House during the New Order.<\/p>\n
He said a short-cut procedure usually applied for deliberation
\nof the state budget. This includes a government explanation and
\nthe House's response. This simplified procedure means a bill can
\nbe passed in less than a month.<\/p>\n
Oka said the House could refuse to deliberate the bill again
\nin the same way that it could theoretically turn down a
\ngovernment-sponsored bill.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Democratic Party legislator B.N. Marbun questioned
\nthe planned second deliberation, saying that House legislators
\nhad labored to reach agreement with the government during the
\nseven months of deliberation.<\/p>\n
Twenty articles were added to the 58 articles in the bill
\nsubmitted by Harmoko before the House passed it.<\/p>\n
"We have no tradition of second deliberation. Why doesn't the
\ngovernment enact the broadcasting bill first and issue some
\nregulations to make amends for the law's shortcomings?" Marbun
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
National Institute of Science researcher Rusdi Muchtar called
\non the government to explain to the public why it sought to amend
\nthe broadcasting bill.<\/p>\n
"Transparency will keep the public from making rumors which
\nmay lead to unrest," Rusdi was quoted by Antara as saying
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
He said Soeharto's refusal showed the government's cautious
\nstance, learning that a law always had consequences for the
\ncommunity. (amd)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/broadcasting-bill-review-plan-draws-mixed-responses-1447893297",
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