Expert applauds new info ministry
Expert applauds new info ministry
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A communication expert has applauded the government's move to set
up a ministry of communications and information, saying it would
help simplify the chain the bureaucracy in establishing new
electronic media.
The new ministry will have the authority to issue licenses and
determine the frequency of new radio and television stations,
thus removing the overlapping functions that currently exist
between two ministries; that of the transportation ministry --
sometimes called the communications ministry -- and that of the
Office of the State Minister for Communications and Information,
researcher Roy Suryo said on Sunday.
"The new ministry has the authority to issue permits and
determine frequencies, which should make it easier in regulating
the electronic media," Roy told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Previously, while permits were issued by the Office of the
State Minister for Communications and Information, the frequency
would be determined by the Directorate General of Post and
Telecommunications under the Ministry of Transportation.
He was commenting on the government's decision to place the
Directorate of Post and Telecommunications under the Office of
the State Minister for Communications and Information and to make
the office a full ministry.
"Communications and information should include the
administration of the radio, television as well as the telephone
system, which are all forms of communication," State Minister for
Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil told the post, in
reply to questions over the reason behind the decision.
However, in view of the fact that the decision would make
Sofyan's ministry more powerful, Roy stressed the need for the
government to set up a clear-cut job description and rules for
the new ministry, to avoid the possible abuse of power that
existed during the Soeharto era when media censorship was rampant
under the old ministry of information.
"The minister should not act as the mouthpiece of the
government as happened before. It should have instead clear rules
on the granting of frequencies so it cannot be used as another
form of censorship," he underlined.
In response, Sofyan underlined that his ministry, and any
other government ministries for that matter, would not have such
a role, saying it was the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission
(KPI) that has the authority to scrutinize the content of the
news.
"The government will not deal whatsoever with the content of
the news, we are only handling the distribution of the
frequencies," Sofyan remarked.
The ministry will have three director generals -- post and
telecommunications, telecommunication and media application, and
infrastructure of the information sector -- to be made effective
immediately.
The ministry will also have two agencies -- public information
agency and telecommunication and media research agencies -- with
the presidential decree as a legal basis for the establishment of
the agencies expected to be signed by President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono anytime soon.
"The public information agency will focus on the dissemination
of information throughout the country. It will serve as a
national media center," Sofyan explained.