Enhancing the press role

Recent developments strike rather a disheartening note with regards the weakening role of the media in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia. An article written by a correspondent for the Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) in Bangkok and carried in this newspaper on Friday, Feb. 27, p.3 under the headline: Freedom of the press under strong pressure in Southeast Asia, effectively delineated the background for those fears. The lead paragraph encapsulates the problem as we perceive it. The DPA journalist writes: "Freedom of the press, which flowered in Southeast Asian nations in the 1990s, now appears to be withering under pressure from authoritarian governments, corrupt judges and corporate interference ..."

Most probably, in the case of Indonesia, part of the problem is caused by the euphoria that was created when President B.J. Habibie's government, with a stroke of the pen in 1999 abrogated the regulations that hampered the freedom of the press. The very restrictive regulation decreed by the government of President Soeharto that an official license was needed to publish a magazine or newspaper was suddenly removed.

As President Habibie's minister of information, Lt. Gen. Yunus Yosfiah, a professional soldier with extensive combat experience in East Timor, said at the time: "If you want to publish a newspaper or a magazine tomorrow, go right ahead and don't bother to ask for a license from my department." It just shows that an army officer, a veteran of the East Timor armed conflict, can also turn out to be a democrat.

Looking back, that sudden freedom that the Indonesian press enjoyed, which consisted not only of the abolition of the license requirement, but also the freedom to write and to disseminate news, sort of caught the Indonesian media unprepared. Apparently, President Habibie's government assumed that with the termination of the requirement, it had done the public a service and established democracy overnight.

As it turned out, with new publications emerging like mushrooms after a rainstorm and television stations burgeoning, the demand for experienced reporters, sub-editors and editors specializing in a variety of subjects rose considerably, while at the same time the supply was extremely limited. One simply does not produce a good journalist overnight.

In the meantime, the reform movement was creating a situation in which the legal institutions did not perform effectively and some business corporations in their greed for instant profits openly violated laws and regulations, often with the support, it seemed, of some highly placed officials.

Thus, an unavoidable collision course was set in motion between an aggressive media that was testing the scope of its newly found freedom, and the forces that were out to benefit from the weakened government and legal institutions. The recent case of the prominent businessman Tomy Winata, who filed several lawsuits against the Tempo publishing group, reveals the fragility of Indonesian media organizations.

Unless the role of the Indonesian press can be strengthened and improved within a relatively short time, it will be difficult to expect that democracy in this country will experience a healthy if gradual development in the not too distant future. The role of a professionally competent press that is also strong in the business sense is essential for the development of political democracy and good governance in Indonesia. As a recent conference in Jakarta, organized by the United Nations Support Facility for Indonesian Recovery (UNSFIR) shows, the range of problems faced by Indonesia since 1998 are indeed complex and extensive. By organizing the conference on the theme: Lessons from the Indonesian Transition -- Setting a Future Reform Agenda, UNSFIR, headed by Dr. Satish Mishra, has provided a sort of road map that is very helpful for the Indonesian media in focusing its attention on a number of strategic issues.

The urgent question we are facing is: What program can be designed and executed to enhance the role of the press so that it can become a relevant force in the growth of a democratic Indonesia with good governance? A number of international organizations have already shown an interest in helping to push the development of the Indonesian press forward. It seems that what is needed is a comprehensive program combining what is currently being done, and an extension of programs with adequate funding in order to achieve a respectable and sustainable progress.

First, a survey needs to be prepared to determine what can be done in the short term. Obviously, existing journalism schools and training institutions, the number of which does not exceed five, need to be given assistance. They need effective help in improving their curricula and in finding experienced instructors, increasing their operational funds and expanding their libraries. Further, workshops of at least two weeks should be held in a number of areas in Indonesia in order to enhance the competence of journalists in both the print and electronic media in a relatively short time. What seems to be most important is the devising of some sort of legal mechanism that would protect the Indonesian media from undue harassment and threats.

Since obviously we cannot expect international organizations to directly manage the program, perhaps a new indigenous institution led by a respected media leader such as Jakob Oetama of the Kompas Group would be appropriate to lead it. That institution could then prompt international organizations to provide assistance in various forms and to put together a realistic and effective program.

We should seriously strive to develop a media in Indonesia that competently focuses its efforts on a number of strategic issues in the coming five years, so that political democracy and social justice through good governance can be achieved.