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