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.