Foreign investment in domestic press

From Prospek

Domestic newspaper and magazine publishers are concerned over Law No. 20, 1994, which some circles understood to allow foreign investment in the press.

This concern is well founded because even though the media business experienced a boom in the past and a larger number of new publications came into being, many of them have faced hard luck, either because of inaccurate feasibility studies or mismanagement.

In such a situation, the presence of foreign investment in the media business would give new hope of jobs to the unemployed, but would do nothing to address the worries of the domestic publishers.

It is, therefore, a relief to read the latest reports clarifying that the foreign investment allowed is not meant to intrude into the news media, and that the new law is simply an implementation of Law No. 1, 1967, on Foreign Investment, which once included the press business.

In relation to this, the President has already ruled out the intrusion of foreign investment into media enterprises. This prohibition is sensible because the media, especially the printed media, constitute a strategic arena for infusing ideologies that run counter to the Indonesian philosophy, or for presenting news items that can disturb economic and social, as well as political stability.

In a nutshell, we should always refer to the Basic Law of the Press, which protects the media business from foreign intervention of any kind.

ANDI MULIA

Jakarta