Broadcasting law lacking in clarity

Broadcasting law lacking in clarity

By Buni Yani

JAKARTA (JP): Commercial television stations welcomed the passing of the broadcasting bill into law by the House of Representatives this week, but said they were still uncertain about some aspects of the new legislation.

The final version of the government-sponsored bill, the first of its kind in Indonesian history, which will become law as soon as President Soeharto signs it, gives a short list of `don'ts' for TV stations to observe.

While some of the items on the list are clear, such as programs containing communist teachings, the definitions of other criteria -- like violence, sadism, pornography, mysticism, a permissive lifestyle, consumerism, hedonism and feudalism -- are vague and broad, and need to be spelled out more clearly for the television stations.

It remains unclear for example whether the popular series Melrose Place aired on Sunday nights by SCTV would constitute promoting a permissive lifestyle, given that the characters constantly change partners.

Or take Baywatch on RCTI, where many characters appear in bikinis. And come Ramadhan next month, the station is expected to take it off the air altogether as it has in past years.

Most TV stations also air kung-fu action films, which some critics consider too violent, during evening prime time.

The law needs further clarification before it can be enforced, particularly with regard to the terms violence, pornography, consumerism and sadism, said Zoraya Perucha, ANteve's public relations manager.

She nevertheless welcomes the new law. "It will make our work simpler," she said.

Commercial television arrived in Indonesia in the late 1980s. Previously, the state-owned TVRI had a monopoly of the television industry.

Andreas Ambesa, PR manager of Indosiar, says the new law gives commercial stations greater certainty.

But like Zoraya, Andreas said the government has to come up with some definitions to interpret what exactly the law means by pornography, sadism, violence, consumerism etc.

He foresees difficulties for example in trying to define consumerism, especially in relation to TV advertisements.

An advertisement is intended to encourage people to buy and consume, he said.

He regretted that some people are quick to point their finger at the slightest suggestion of "pornography" without looking at, or trying to appreciate the content or message of the programs.

"We need to change this kind of attitude," he said.

The House of Representatives gave the government a run for its money in deliberating the bill. The final version looks very different from the one submitted by the government in May, and is 20 chapters longer than the original 58.

Marwah Daud Ibrahim, the spokesperson for Golkar during the final deliberation of the bill on Monday, said the additions were deemed necessary to protect the audience, particularly the younger generations, from the negative impacts of television and other broadcasting media.

One is that the bill requires broadcasting institutions to allocate more air time for education programs.

Zoraya, whose ANteve also airs MTV programs, says her station already rates its programs according to age, giving particular attention to children's programs.

Zoraya and Andreas have no objection to the law requiring that TV stations give a 70 percent of air time to locally made programs.

Both said TV stations will need time to adjust.

"The target is not impossible," Zoraya said, adding that this means ANteve will have to recruit more staff.

Andreas said that at present, locally produced programs already amount to about half of all the programs broadcast by Indosiar.

Pri Sulisto, director of Radio Klasik Top FM, said the new law is not likely to have much impact on radio stations.

He singled out the clause requiring broadcasting companies to use Indonesian as the medium of communication.

While he accepted the regulation banning the use of vulgar words, he said stations must be given leeway in language usage because many Indonesians use slang nowadays.

The new law also seeks to regulate new forms of broadcasting that come with new communications technology. Besides regulating teletext, audio text, the legislation also covers the Internet.

Under the law, anyone who broadcasts through these media is required to obtain operating licenses from the government. The law is more relaxed regarding content, stressing self-censorship by the operators.

The clause on Internet is vague and needs clarification, at least in the eyes of Henri Kasyfi Soemartono, director of Radnet, one of the leading internet providers in the country.

An internet provider is not responsible for the content of information that goes through the Internet. Its job is more on the technical side.

"Those who run the websites should be responsible for the content," Henri said.

He foresees difficulties in controlling the information on the Internet, especially that which is installed overseas, but accessible in Indonesia.

Henri said even trying to control information that flows through the Internet is next to impossible.

"Certainly, we cannot control our clients," he said.

He warned against too strong an obsession to control the Internet, stressing that the medium should be used to Indonesia's advantage, for activities like promoting the country abroad.

A number of major newspapers and magazines, some television stations, universities, non-governmental organizations, and many government agencies have opened their own websites in the internet. It is not clear yet how the legislation would affect them.