Experts call for review of 1996 Press Law
Experts call for review of 1996 Press Law
JAKARTA (JP): Experts greeted the scheduled endorsement of the
broadcasting bill over the weekend, calling for equal "freedom"
between broadcast and print journalists.
Mass communications expert Bachtiar Aly and legal expert
Loebby Loqman, both from the University of Indonesia, called
separately Saturday for review of the 1966 Press Law and the 1984
minister of information decree that enables the government to ban
publications.
Bachtiar said the usual excuse the government gave for banning
a publication was namely for the "sake of national stability",
which reflected an undue anxiety over how a free press should
behave.
He said the existing regulations enabled the government "to
guillotine the press at anytime".
"The press law should be revised and the government should no
longer be the sole authority to decide the fate of the mass
media," he said. "Offenses committed by the press should instead
be settled in court."
He added that the 1966 press law should be updated to keep up
with the mass media's rapid development.
Bachtiar praised the broadcasting bill, to be passed on
Thursday, for guaranteeing a greater openness and freedom for the
electronic media. The existing print media regulations should be
revised so that print journalists can enjoy a similar freedom, he
said.
He conceded the Press Law has provided freedom for the press,
but the 1984 ministerial decree on the banning of publications,
which he said was inconsistent with the law, was a looming
threat.
The government-sponsored broadcasting bill was endorsed by the
House of Representatives in December, but President Soeharto
refused to sign it into law citing several problematic articles.
The document was then returned for an unprecedented
redeliberation. The new draft stipulates, for instance, that a
private television station license is effective for 10 years
rather than five years as the original draft said.
Bachtiar Aly was not the first observer to criticize the 1984
ministerial decree. The government has usually been able to
deflect protest against the decree, which says that a
publication's license can be revoked.
Victims of the decree include newsweeklies Tempo, Editor and
DeTik which were banned in 1994. Legal measures against the
banning have so far been unsuccessful.
Loebby said he supported Bachtiar Aly in calling on the
government to start taking press offenses to court rather than
banning the publications.
New publications
In a related development, the Central Java Big Family
Foundation, founded by hotelier Sukamdani Sahid Gitosardjono and
provincial governor Soewardi, will launch Solo Pos daily in
October.
"The 30 million-population Central Java market has great
potential," the foundation executive Agus Sudono told Antara
Saturday.
Sudono said the new daily is prepared to compete with daily
Suara Merdeka in Semarang, Yogya Pos and Kedaulatan Rakyat
newspapers in Yogyakarta.
General manager of Bisnis Indonesia, Sukamdani, has reportedly
allocated Rp 12 billion for the newspaper.
Dharmais foundation, chaired by President Soeharto in his
capacity as a private citizen, also received a license last month
to launch a magazine. Dharmais magazine was previously published
as an in-house magazine for foundations chaired by Soeharto.
Former defunct Tempo newsweekly reporters are reportedly
preparing the launch of economic weekly Pilar at the end of this
year.
Jawa Pos group has recently relaunched Prospect magazine. It
also won the permit last week to manage daily Semarak in
cooperation with Bengkulu provincial authorities after a five-
year trial operation.
Meanwhile, Bakrie group recently became the managers of Sinar
Pagi to compete with the popular Pos Kota newspaper. (10/prb)