Senior journalist denies he is Habibie's puppet<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Senior journalist Parni Hadi was installed as
\nthe new general manager of the official news agency Antara
\nyesterday, replacing Handjojo Nitimihardjo.<\/p>\n
Parni, who retains his title as general manager at the Moslem-
\noriented Republika daily, strongly rejected allegations that he
\nwas posted to Antara because he is President Habibie's good
\nfriend.<\/p>\n
He said he was sure Habibie entrusted him to lead the news
\nagency because the President saw him as a capable journalist and
\nmanager rather than a good buddy.<\/p>\n
\"Pak Habibie knows that I'm not his 'yesman'. He knows only
\ntoo well that I'm a long-time journalist so I have the capacity
\nto manage this news agency,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Parni called his new post \"a dream comes true\".<\/p>\n
Irked by accusations that he is Habibie's henchman, he said
\nsome people used the spirit of democratization to discredit
\nothers by spreading rumors that certain officials got their
\npositions thanks to cronyism.<\/p>\n
Parni, 50, was the first editor of Republika, which was
\nfounded by the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals
\n(ICMI), which is headed by Habibie.<\/p>\n
He was a senior editor at Antara long before Republika was
\nfounded in 1993.<\/p>\n
Parni, who was installed as a member of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly earlier this week, was installed yesterday
\nby Minister\/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung because the agency is
\nadministered by the state secretariat.<\/p>\n
His appointment was made public only on Tuesday and there was
\nno explanation for why Handjojo, who assumed his post in 1986,
\nwas replaced.<\/p>\n
Akbar said yesterday that there was nothing unusual in the
\nreplacement.<\/p>\n
\"Any media needs to refresh its management and continuously
\ndevelop its human resources. This is exactly what we are doing
\nnow with the Antara leadership,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Parni pledged to make breakthroughs in developing the news
\nagency to meet demands for fast and accurate reporting.<\/p>\n
\"I'll entrust some regional bureaus to release their news
\nwithout being edited by the Jakarta office's editors,\" he said,
\ngiving an example.<\/p>\n
With almost 25 years of experience in journalism, Parni said,
\nhe believed he could manage his both his jobs, in Republika and
\nAntara.<\/p>\n
Minister of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Adi Sasono and
\ntransmigration minister A.M. Hendropriyono were among the VIPs
\nwho attended the ceremony. (emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/senior-journalist-denies-he-is-habibies-puppet-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}