Foreign investment in domestic press

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