Drive on billboard language to continue

Drive on billboard language to continue

JAKARTA (JP): Around 2,000 billboards, signs and banners
around the city still bear foreign names or wording despite a
national campaign to use proper Indonesian.

Unless they are changed, they may be targeted in a Sept. 25
raid, the city administration's director of social and political
affairs, Bagus Suharyono said yesterday.

The campaign launched last May by President Soeharto supported
city policies prohibiting unnecessary foreign words on
billboards, signs, commercials and banners.

The Language Development Center of Bahasa Indonesia has also
published related guidelines and lists of Indonesian words for
foreign terms.

The 1992 city rule says foreign names and words may be used on
a limited basis for trademarks of goods whose production centers
are overseas and local branches of foreign companies.

Since the campaign began, Bagus noted, there has been a
positive response through many self-initiated changes in
billboards and name signs.

However the operation is necessary as many parties still lack
awareness of promoting their own language, he said.

Bagus was accompanied by executives of the Jakarta Chamber of
Commerce and Industry. They announced a one-day information
session on the legal aspects of changing names for the business
sector on Sept. 19.

The event will be held at Hotel Wisata Internasional in
Central Jakarta.

Oke F. Supit, the chamber's chairman, said many entrepreneurs
have asked about problems raised in name changing as they are
tied up by contracts with foreign partners.

The entrepreneurs have raised concerns about possible costs
and time wasted if they change names, Oke said.

Oke said the session will include explanation that as long as
the contracts are effective, names need not be changed.

However they should be ready with new names when contracts are
renewed, he said.

"Manufacturers who are not license holders of foreign
trademarks should also use Indonesian names for their products,"
Oke said, citing the trademark of the 'Goldstar' shoes.

"However many manufacturers say they need to use foreign names
to be able to market their products both overseas and in the
country," Oke said. Such manufacturers should be convinced that
product quality, not brand name, is a stronger factor to secure
markets, he added. (anr)