Delay passage of broadcasting bill<\/p>\n
Ardimas Sasdi, Staff Writer, Jakarta, ardimas@thejakartapost.com<\/p>\n
So powerful were the owners and executives of the private TV
\nstations that they were able to delay the approval of
\nBroadcasting Bill No. 27. The very same law was not even
\nenforceable a year after its approval by then President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
In the reform era the same TV stations, plus Metro TV,
\ncontinually exposed the weaknesses of the government of
\npresident B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri without mercy, as if everything had run smoothly
\nunder the New Order administration.<\/p>\n
Irritation expressed by Megawati and her aides with the press
\nmust be understood within this context, although it is naive to
\nignore the reality that the government as power holder also had
\nan intention to use this law to control the press as the New
\nOrder government had done in the past. Megawati has criticized
\nthe press at least twice this year: The first occasion was around
\nPress Day in February and the second shortly after the Nunukan
\ntragedy in October.<\/p>\n
The President accused the press of going overboard by blowing
\neverything out of proportion, creating an image that Indonesia
\nwas burning.<\/p>\n
But in the latest protest against media coverage, Megawati may
\nhave been ill-informed by her aides that her criticisms sparked a
\nstrong reaction from journalists, academics and politicians. The
\nreaction was properly aired by veteran journalist Rosihan Anwar,
\nwho said that it was improper for the President to criticize the
\npress. Rosihan said the President should instead thank the press,
\nwhich had helped raise the plight of hundreds of thousands of
\nmigrant workers stranded in squalid camps in Nunukan, East
\nKalimantan, to the surface through its coverage so that the
\ngovernment became aware of the gravity of the situation, and took
\nproper measures to deal with it. The workers had been deported
\nand harassed by Malaysian authorities under a new, tough
\nimmigration policy on foreign workers.<\/p>\n
Judging from the strong opposition of the media and public to
\nthe new Broadcasting Bill and the wider political realities,
\nMegawati has two choices: First, forget her concern about the
\neffect of a free press and initiate efforts through members of
\nher Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle to stop deliberations
\non the bill. Efforts to continue deliberations on the bill could
\nbe viewed by the already hostile press as government endeavors to
\nrestrict its freedom.<\/p>\n
The aim to "control" the press is also not popular and could
\nbecome political suicide for a politician in power. Former Indian
\nPrime Minister Indira Gandhi, for instance, was forced to bow to
\npressure to drop a draconian law on the press in 1988 after
\nmassive protests from the press, including the press sympathetic
\nto her and her Congress Party. The case was believed to be one of
\nthe factors that in the end cost Gandhi her premiership. The same
\ncould also happen to Megawati.<\/p>\n
Second, it is better for the government to reflect rather than
\ncontinue deliberations on the bill, even though there are some
\npositive aspects to it, such as clauses that regulate cross-
\nownership in the media, media conglomeration, diversity of
\ninformation and the establishment of a public media freed from
\ncommercial interests.<\/p>\n
The aim to control the press would kill nascent press freedom
\nand impede the process of democratization, of which the key is an
\ninformed citizenry.<\/p>\n
Moreover, efforts to muzzle the press are against the spirit
\nof reform in the media industry promoted by the government of
\nB.J. Habibie through liberalization and deregulation of the media
\nindustry in 1998. Thus it would also be viewed by already
\nrestless investors on future investment in Indonesia as an anti-
\nbusiness policy.<\/p>\n
Third, there were strong indications of politicization of the
\nBroadcasting Bill by Megawati's political opponents to pit the
\ngovernment against the press. Indications of that have been
\nstrong. Deliberations on the bill were marked by protests and
\nwalkouts by legislators who were initially considered pro-bill,
\nsuch as Effendy Choirie of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and
\nDjoko Susilo of the National Mandate Party (PAN). In September
\n2002 Astrid Susanto, a professor of communications and one of the
\nstaunchest proponents of the bill, walked out of a meeting with
\nMinister Syamsul Muarif in protest at the government's lack of
\ncommitment to the bill.<\/p>\n
The Muarif factor, a leading architect behind Golkar's
\nsuccessful campaign in improving the image of Golkar among
\nlegislators in the House, is more of a liability for Megawati as
\npart the risk of having a rainbow Cabinet than as an asset in
\nconnection with the bill. The minister's aspect is not trivial.
\nGolkar was apparently not happy with the current Cabinet as they
\nsaw Megawati had not been being doing anything to prevent the
\nAttorney General's Office from processing the case of Golkar
\nchairman Akbar Tandjung, who was sentenced by the district court
\nto three years' imprisonment for graft in the Rp 41 billion Bulog
\nscandal.<\/p>\n
Fourth, support from intellectuals and academics as opinion-
\nmakers to back the new bill, is difficult to obtain as they rely
\nheavily on the media for their mouthpiece. The only way the
\ngovernment can gain some popular control over the communications
\nfield, as put by Robert McChesney (2001), is to mobilize a
\npopular movement. But even this is not easy for Megawati to
\nachieve at the moment, with the popularity of the existing
\nCabinet so low.<\/p>\n
Even at the PDI Perjuangan level support is hard to obtain,
\nwith party leaders involved in internal bickering over party
\npolicy. Some also observed that the government had failed to
\nraise their standard of living, causing disillusion among those
\nwho considered that life was better under the dictatorial regime
\nof Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Last, there are many urgent things that need government
\nattention, such as sound and concrete programs to bring the
\ncountry out of economic crisis befalling Indonesia since 1997,
\nand the political and security uncertainty in the country. The
\nfight against terrorism is new, but a much more pressing need
\nthat the government has to deal with quickly and correctly. The
\neffect of the Oct. 12 Bali blast has crippled the tourism sector,
\nnot only in Bali, but also within Indonesia generally.<\/p>\n
The writer received his masters degree in communication
\nscience from the University of Indonesia, Jakarta.<\/p>",
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