E. Java stops buying papers

E. Java stops buying papers

SURABAYA (JP): The East Java provincial administration is
saving money by canceling its subscriptions to 34 newspapers and
magazines.

An official said the administration had decided to cancel 90.8
percent of all subscriptions before March 1 to save money for the
May 29 general election and National Sports Week in 2000.

Governor Basofi Soedirman's office now subscribes to only
three Jakarta-based newspapers, Kompas, Republika and Suara
Karya, and five local newspapers.

Some journalists reporting on the East Java provincial
administration have been outraged by the decision. They have
signed an open letter criticizing the administration's public
relations office for "terminating communication with the mass
media".

The journalists said the cancellation meant the provincial
administration could no longer see what the press wrote about it.
The reporters also questioned the administration's reasoning,
saying there were separate funds for the general election and
sports week.

The reporters demanded the office reveal the true reason
behind its decision.

The public relations office has an annual budget of Rp 25
million (US$10,200) for subscriptions to publications.

Basofi told The Jakarta Post yesterday that he knew little
about the cancellation. "We must admit, sometimes the content of
these publications is the same," he said.

The Post's source at Basofi's office said the administration
was running out of money after it had bought 617 Isuzu Panther
vans last August for every subdistrict head in the province as
part of a plan to help Golkar's campaign. The provincial
legislature has protested that the vans were bought without its
approval. (nur/swe)