Publisher gets permit at last<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Thirteen years ago, Idrus Indas applied to the
\nMinistry of Information to turn his Nusantara Pos weekly in
\nKendari, Southeast Sulawesi, into a daily newspaper.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the license for a daily newspaper unexpectedly
\narrived in his office in Kendari.<\/p>\n
Idrus told Antara he had long given up on the idea after
\nstumbling into a tangle of bureaucratic red tape.<\/p>\n
The permit for Nusantara Pos is one of several that Minister
\nof Information Muhammad Yunus has signed since he broke down the
\nbureaucratic barriers in his office which he perceived as
\nobstructing the free flow of information.<\/p>\n
Yunus has also simplified the conditions to obtain press
\npublishing licenses and is now looking into the possibility of
\neliminating the 50,000-strong Ministry of Information.<\/p>\n
He is arguing that the ministry is a heavy drain on scarce
\ngovernment resources, doing work that mostly obstructed the free
\nflow of information.<\/p>\n
Idrus' case could not illustrate his point better.<\/p>\n
Idrus said Nusantara Pos, which he founded in 1971, submitted
\nan application form to become a daily newspaper in 1985 after
\nsecuring fresh capital from local investors.<\/p>\n
In 1990, he came to Jakarta to raise the issue directly with
\nthen minister of information Harmoko, who issued a letter of
\nrecommendation to the director general for press and graphics
\nSubrata, ordering him to look into the matter and make sure that
\nall the conditions were fulfilled.<\/p>\n
He said he met all the requirements but nothing happened.<\/p>\n
Then he heard that to secure his license he had to fork out a
\nfortune in bribes. \"But because they were asking for a lot of
\nmoney and I could not afford it, I came home and buried all hopes
\nof obtaining the press license,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Nusantara Pos has continued to appear as a weekly tabloid,
\nprinting 2,000 copies each edition.<\/p>\n
Idrus said he is now hoping to find investors willing to
\nfinance its conversion into a daily newspaper.<\/p>\n
He was optimistic about his prospects, noting that Southeast
\nSulawesi is currently only served by one newspaper, Media Kita of
\nthe Jawa Pos publishing group. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/publisher-gets-permit-at-last-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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