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