Ghafar Baba's remarks

Ghafar Baba's remarks

The remarks made in Jakarta on Sunday by Malaysia's former
deputy prime minister, Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba -- criticizing what
he regarded as a biased attitude in the Indonesian media
regarding events in his country -- may be considered constructive
criticism. But that is not to say that all of his comments are
acceptable.

His seemingly emotional stance has already drawn strong
reactions here from professionals, the chairman of the Indonesian
Journalists Association, legislators, observers and even our
information minister, Yunus Yosfiah, who all regarded his remarks
as out of proportion. As has been reported, Ghafar Baba, in his
media conference in Jakarta -- which he said he was visiting in a
private capacity -- judged the Indonesian media as
disproportionate and unobjective in its reporting. He said such
coverage could upset the prevailing system and stability in
Malaysia by creating unfavorable public opinion.

The media system that currently exists in Malaysia cannot be
compared to that of Indonesia. Because of the existence of the
ISA (Internal Security Act) which empowers the government to
investigate and to detain citizens, including journalists, the
media in that country is naturally restricted in its freedom to
operate compared to the media in Indonesia. Naturally, media
reporting in Malaysia cannot be compared to that in Indonesia.

Since so far no official complaint has been received from the
Malaysian government or from the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta, we
do not see the Ghafar Baba "incident" as something that will
upset relations between the two countries. Nevertheless, it would
be advisable for the Malaysian government to clarify the purpose
of Ghafar Baba's visit, because his offensive remarks could hurt
this nation's sensitivities.

-- Suara Pembaruan, Jakarta