Broadcasting law lacking in clarity<\/p>\n
By Buni Yani<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Commercial television stations welcomed the
\npassing of the broadcasting bill into law by the House of
\nRepresentatives this week, but said they were still uncertain
\nabout some aspects of the new legislation.<\/p>\n
The final version of the government-sponsored bill, the first
\nof its kind in Indonesian history, which will become law as soon
\nas President Soeharto signs it, gives a short list of `don'ts'
\nfor TV stations to observe.<\/p>\n
While some of the items on the list are clear, such as
\nprograms containing communist teachings, the definitions of other
\ncriteria -- like violence, sadism, pornography, mysticism, a
\npermissive lifestyle, consumerism, hedonism and feudalism -- are
\nvague and broad, and need to be spelled out more clearly for the
\ntelevision stations.<\/p>\n
It remains unclear for example whether the popular series
\nMelrose Place aired on Sunday nights by SCTV would constitute
\npromoting a permissive lifestyle, given that the characters
\nconstantly change partners.<\/p>\n
Or take Baywatch on RCTI, where many characters appear in
\nbikinis. And come Ramadhan next month, the station is expected to
\ntake it off the air altogether as it has in past years.<\/p>\n
Most TV stations also air kung-fu action films, which some
\ncritics consider too violent, during evening prime time.<\/p>\n
The law needs further clarification before it can be enforced,
\nparticularly with regard to the terms violence, pornography,
\nconsumerism and sadism, said Zoraya Perucha, ANteve's public
\nrelations manager.<\/p>\n
She nevertheless welcomes the new law. "It will make our work
\nsimpler," she said.<\/p>\n
Commercial television arrived in Indonesia in the late 1980s.
\nPreviously, the state-owned TVRI had a monopoly of the television
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
Andreas Ambesa, PR manager of Indosiar, says the new law gives
\ncommercial stations greater certainty.<\/p>\n
But like Zoraya, Andreas said the government has to come up
\nwith some definitions to interpret what exactly the law means by
\npornography, sadism, violence, consumerism etc.<\/p>\n
He foresees difficulties for example in trying to define
\nconsumerism, especially in relation to TV advertisements.<\/p>\n
An advertisement is intended to encourage people to buy and
\nconsume, he said.<\/p>\n
He regretted that some people are quick to point their finger
\nat the slightest suggestion of "pornography" without looking at,
\nor trying to appreciate the content or message of the programs.<\/p>\n
"We need to change this kind of attitude," he said.<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives gave the government a run for its
\nmoney in deliberating the bill. The final version looks very
\ndifferent from the one submitted by the government in May, and is
\n20 chapters longer than the original 58.<\/p>\n
Marwah Daud Ibrahim, the spokesperson for Golkar during the
\nfinal deliberation of the bill on Monday, said the additions were
\ndeemed necessary to protect the audience, particularly the
\nyounger generations, from the negative impacts of television and
\nother broadcasting media.<\/p>\n
One is that the bill requires broadcasting institutions to
\nallocate more air time for education programs.<\/p>\n
Zoraya, whose ANteve also airs MTV programs, says her station
\nalready rates its programs according to age, giving particular
\nattention to children's programs.<\/p>\n
Zoraya and Andreas have no objection to the law requiring that
\nTV stations give a 70 percent of air time to locally made
\nprograms.<\/p>\n
Both said TV stations will need time to adjust.<\/p>\n
"The target is not impossible," Zoraya said, adding that this
\nmeans ANteve will have to recruit more staff.<\/p>\n
Andreas said that at present, locally produced programs
\nalready amount to about half of all the programs broadcast by
\nIndosiar.<\/p>\n
Pri Sulisto, director of Radio Klasik Top FM, said the new law
\nis not likely to have much impact on radio stations.<\/p>\n
He singled out the clause requiring broadcasting companies to
\nuse Indonesian as the medium of communication.<\/p>\n
While he accepted the regulation banning the use of vulgar
\nwords, he said stations must be given leeway in language usage
\nbecause many Indonesians use slang nowadays.<\/p>\n
The new law also seeks to regulate new forms of broadcasting
\nthat come with new communications technology. Besides regulating
\nteletext, audio text, the legislation also covers the Internet.<\/p>\n
Under the law, anyone who broadcasts through these media is
\nrequired to obtain operating licenses from the government. The
\nlaw is more relaxed regarding content, stressing self-censorship
\nby the operators.<\/p>\n
The clause on Internet is vague and needs clarification, at
\nleast in the eyes of Henri Kasyfi Soemartono, director of Radnet,
\none of the leading internet providers in the country.<\/p>\n
An internet provider is not responsible for the content of
\ninformation that goes through the Internet. Its job is more on
\nthe technical side.<\/p>\n
"Those who run the websites should be responsible for the
\ncontent," Henri said.<\/p>\n
He foresees difficulties in controlling the information on the
\nInternet, especially that which is installed overseas, but
\naccessible in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Henri said even trying to control information that flows
\nthrough the Internet is next to impossible.<\/p>\n
"Certainly, we cannot control our clients," he said.<\/p>\n
He warned against too strong an obsession to control the
\nInternet, stressing that the medium should be used to Indonesia's
\nadvantage, for activities like promoting the country abroad.<\/p>\n
A number of major newspapers and magazines, some television
\nstations, universities, non-governmental organizations, and many
\ngovernment agencies have opened their own websites in the
\ninternet. It is not clear yet how the legislation would affect
\nthem.<\/p>",
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