ASEAN countries plan to produce own TV programs

ASEAN countries plan to produce own TV programs

BATAM, Riau (JP): Members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) plan to produce their own television
programs as a way of countering the cultural intrusion through TV
programs supplied from the West, Minister of Information Harmoko
disclosed yesterday.

"We reached the informal agreement last year," Harmoko said
referring to the meeting of ASEAN's information ministers in
Manila.

Harmoko was speaking at the inauguration of the new relay
station jointly owned by Indonesia's private RCTI and SCTV
networks in Batam. With the new station, the two networks can now
be received not only in Batam, but also in Singapore and parts of
Malaysia's southern peninsula.

Also present at the ceremony held at the office of the Batam
Industrial Development Authority were Malaysian Information
Minister Dato H. Moch. Rachmat, Singapore's ambassador to
Indonesia Edward Lee and Riau Governor Suripto.

Rachmat referred to the threat of cultural contamination as
the main reason why ASEAN needs to produce its own television
programs.

Harmoko said that if ASEAN governments can formally agree to
the idea by next year, ASEAN members will not have any problem
with infrastructure because they could use Indonesia's Palapa
communications satellite to beam the programs region-wide.

ASEAN norms

He noted that Malaysia is expected to allow its citizens to
own satellite dishes by 1996 that will pick up programs from
Indonesia.

Harmoko said ASEAN countries have agreed to formulate a set of
"norms" and codes of ethics on information that are deemed
appropriate for dissemination.

Rachmat said that Malaysia's decision to cut a BBC television
program on the workers' riots in Medan, North Sumatra, last April
was made as a gesture of ASEAN solidarity.

"The BBC was angry and the contract was cut," Rachmat said.
"But never mind," he added.

"We will have a controlled open sky policy," Harmoko added.

The two ministers agreed that the private sector should manage
and operate the "ASEAN television" while the governments would
provide the guidelines.

Both ministers anticipated language problems in running an
ASEAN television station and suggested using a variety of
languages in the same way that Malaysian and Singaporean networks
are doing now as a way out.

SCTV vice commissioner Sudwikatmono, who was present at the
ceremony, said, however, that he is not interested yet in joining
such a venture.

"We've just reached our break-even point," he said, adding
that television is a high risk industry. (anr)