Culture screens influx of foreign information<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Visiting Singaporean Minister of Information and
\nthe Arts said yesterday that culture serves the important
\nfunction of neutralizing the influx of foreign information.<\/p>\n
George Yeo said that advancement in technology and
\nglobalization had led to the rapid flow of information coming to
\nboth Indonesia and Singapore, transmitted through satellite,
\nundersea cable and televisions.<\/p>\n
No country could stop this influx, he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with President Soeharto,
\nYeo said both countries are able to select the appropriate
\ninformation through referring to their own culture, which serves
\nas a means of resistance.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Singapore have the ability to select the best
\ninformation using their cultures, but they have to be more
\nselective, he said.<\/p>\n
Yeo, who was accompanied by his Indonesian counterpart
\nHarmoko, said that both countries could forge a good cooperation
\nto improve the countries' respective national resilience.<\/p>\n
When asked about the importance of the cooperation between the
\ntwo countries, the minister explained that Indonesia and
\nSingapore has several similarities such as in politics and
\nculture.<\/p>\n
The two countries also enjoy strong economic relations, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Yeo said that political stability, economic development and
\nequal dissemination of development were not only the three
\nimportant aspects for Indonesia, but also for the other countries
\nin Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
He said without those aspects, ASEAN, the Association of
\nSoutheast Asia Nations which groups Indonesia, Singapore,
\nThailand the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia would not exist.<\/p>\n
Yeo, who is also chairman of the youth generation of the
\nPeople's Action Party (PAP), believes that youth leaders in the
\ntwo countries should improve relations with their groups.<\/p>\n
Warnings<\/p>\n
In a related development, the Indonesian government has issued
\nwarnings to two magazines, Forum Keadilan and Sinar, for their
\ncoverage on the ban of Tempo, Editor and DeTIK magazines.<\/p>\n
The letters, signed by Subrata, the Director General for Press
\nand Graphics at the Ministry of Information, said the two
\nmagazines's coverage about the banning of the gazettes could
\nmislead their readers.<\/p>\n
In the letter to Sinar, Subrata said the coverage was against
\nthe \"spirit of a healthy, free, and responsible press which we
\ntogether develop.\"<\/p>\n
Sjam Alamsjah, Sinar's acting editor-in-chief told The Jakarta
\nPost yesterday that it was the first written warning given to the
\nmagazine.<\/p>\n
He said that the warning was nothing new for the editorial
\ndepartment because it had received several oral warnings before.<\/p>\n
He said that the magazine planned to pay more attention to the
\njournalism code of ethics in presenting its coverage.<\/p>\n
Media sources earlier said that several other publications
\nhave been warned about their coverage of the ban and of recent
\nunrest in East Timor. (par)<\/p>",
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