Good press, bad press<\/p>\n
If freedom of expression is the yardstick by which to measure
\ndemocracy, and if freedom of the media is one criterion to gauge
\nthat freedom of expression, then democracy in Indonesia may be in
\nperil. We seem to be getting a lot of rather disturbing vibes
\nfrom the government lately that raise serious questions about its
\ncommitment towards the freedom of the press in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
State Minister for Communications and Information Syamsul
\nMuarif indicated last week that the government was giving
\nconsideration to reintroducing some kind of policy to rein in the
\npress. He cited demands from many members of the House of
\nRepresentatives that the government do something about the
\nbehavior of the press, which they said had become kebablasan (out
\nof control).<\/p>\n
Making his intention known from the same room where ministers
\nand Army generals in the past used to intimidate editors into
\nsubmission, Syamsul's promise that the present government would
\nguarantee press freedom came across as hollow. Instead, his
\nrevelation strengthened our fears about President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri's real intention when she created the post of state
\nminister in her Cabinet in August: to control the press.<\/p>\n
President Megawati has shown increasingly the traits of a
\nleader who is not accommodative, if not intolerant, of the press.<\/p>\n
Only a few days after she complained about the behavior of the
\nmedia to the Press Council -- and she may have legitimate reasons
\nto raise the issue -- she totally removed herself from the
\nmedia's prying eyes when she took a holiday to mark the New Year
\nand the birthday of her husband, Taufik Kiemas, in Bali.<\/p>\n
While she had every right to keep such celebrations private,
\nthe people in this country also had the right to know that theor
\nleader would make herself available should a national crisis
\ndevelop. Making herself scarce from the media for three
\nconsecutive days came across as totally irresponsible, especially
\nwhen the nation was still in a state of crisis.<\/p>\n
Lest she and her inner circle forget, Megawati's early rise to
\nnational fame owes a great deal to the prodemocracy movement,
\nincluding the many free speech forums that emerged in 1996. From
\nher origins as a mere leader of the nation's smallest political
\nparty, she became a rallying point for various organizations that
\nsought to end the tyrannical regime of Soeharto. That goal was
\nfinally achieved in May 1998, and Megawati subsequently rose to
\npower on the back of the reform movement.<\/p>\n
It would not be an exaggeration to state that the critical
\npress has been part and parcel of her rise to prominence.<\/p>\n
Megawati, and just about every other elected leader and
\npolitician in this country, owe their positions today to the
\nreform movement. They include some of those in the legislature
\nwho today have the audacity to call the press kebablasan.<\/p>\n
Now cozily in power, some of these same leaders appear to be
\nleading the campaign to try and curtail the press, conveniently
\nforgetting how and why they were put in power in the first place.<\/p>\n
Typically, they would lump all the press, the bad as well as
\nthe good, in one basket, as this would give them the necessary
\npretext to rein in the entire press.<\/p>\n
There are laws that deal with the bad press, such as
\npublications that indulge in pornography or slander. Legal
\nchannels must remain the only means by which to deal with the bad
\npress, for they discriminate between the good and the bad.<\/p>\n
Giving the government back some forms of control would only
\ninvite back power abuses, for it would be applied
\nindiscriminately against the bad and the good press.<\/p>\n
It would be a tragic mistake if we were to allow the state to
\nhave some controlling powers over the press once again. We have
\nbeen down that road before. It always started small, but inch by
\ninch, the government would surely bring the entire media under
\nits control. Once the media were under the government's control,
\nwe could all forget about freedom of expression, and democracy.<\/p>\n
In a free press regime, you are bound to get both good and bad
\npress. But in a controlled press regime, you are only going to
\nget a bad press, a press that indulges in lies, or half-truths
\nbecause it is prevented from telling the whole truth. There is no
\ndoubt that society's overall interests would be better served if
\nwe all worked to protect our freedom of expression, which
\nincludes the freedom of the media.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/good-press-bad-press-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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