Broadcasting commission a laughingstock to members

Broadcasting commission a laughingstock to members

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) says an inadequate
budget and legal uncertainty regarding its power have prevented
it from exercising its legitimate mandate since its inception two
years ago, despite public calls for improvement in the country's
broadcasting industry.

As if to add insult to injury, television and radio stations
have simply ignored the KPI's reprimands over media content that,
according to the commission, violates regulations.

The violations, said the KPI, include the broadcast of
explicit sexual acts or classified content outside of the
designated hours.

A weak budget, supposedly essential in order to effectively
monitor media content, is evident in the fact that KPI only has
two TV sets and not a single recording device.

"Even the money allotted in the 2005 state budget for the
commission has not been disbursed yet," KPI deputy chairman
Sinansari Encip told a hearing with House of Representatives
Commission I for information on Wednesday.

The government agreed to provide Rp 11.58 billion (US$1.2
million) for the KPI for this fiscal year. Encip, however, said
so far the KPI had been using Rp 99.5 million in loans from the
Ministry of Communication and Information to cover its
activities.

Ironically, the KPI is currently in a heated dispute with the
ministry following multiple interpretations of who is in charge
of broadcasting in the country.

The dispute led the KPI to file a judicial review with the
Supreme Court two weeks ago on three government regulations
recently issued, which the KPI says have cut its authorities down
to size.

The three regulations grant most of the powers to govern
broadcasting activities, including issuance and extension of
licenses, to the ministry.

This, the ministry said, was a consequence of the broadcasting
law that says the industry is regulated by the "state", a word
that the KPI has interpreted as itself.

The House, which drafted and passed the law, has thrown its
weight behind the KPI, saying that the KPI represents the state.

Members of the House Commission I said on Wednesday they were
prepared to facilitate a tripartite meeting to solve the dispute
out of court.

Pending the settlement, KPI member Ade Armando asked
legislators to separate the commission's budget from the
ministry's in the next fiscal year to ensure independence.

Another KPI member Andrik Purwasita said the uncertain status
of the commission had encouraged broadcasters to defy the KPI's
reprimands, especially because it had no power to force the
broadcasters to comply.

"If our power is strictly defined and legitimized, we will be
able to mete out punishment ranging from warnings to revocation
of licenses. KPI will become a respected institution, which I can
assure you will put nothing but public interest first," he said.