Criticism of the press

Criticism of the press

During the National Press Day 1995 celebrations in Manado, North Sulawesi, on Thursday, President Soeharto criticized the domestic press. He said our press coverage is not quite in line with national priorities and often approaches or even oversteps the boundaries, which could invite discord. This was the first time that the President openly criticized the national press and we are obligated to accept this.

With the present trend towards globalization, Indonesia is being caught up in the exceedingly swift currents of change. An important factor, which is thrusting our nation into this current of globalization, is the press. This is because one of the characteristics of a world-enveloping society is the swiftness with which information is transmitted from one place to another across space and time and across legal and national boundaries.

A most important date is the year 2020, when our Asia-Pacific region will become a free trade zone. We should take the President's warning as a signal to get ourselves ready to anticipate that important moment.

For the domestic press, that will mean free competition in providing information for our society. Even now, as we are approaching the close of the century, the stream of information coming from all over the world is flooding our country. In another quarter-century's time that current will be much swifter because society requires it as a consequence of the demands of the times.

If the national press should prove unable to satisfy the demands of the times, society can turn to sources of information outside this country, which might not be in agreement with the outlook and objectives of the Indonesian nation.

We are confident that the sense of idealism of the domestic press is still strong enough to overcome the existing internal constraints and to resist the pull of pragmatism exerted by modern industry. In time we will be able to witness the existence of an institution called the domestic press, which can face the challenges of the times with grit, while satisfying society's need for extensive, penetrating and accurate information.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta