Give subtitles the boot

I fully agree with Minister Harmoko and the government on dubbing all foreign programs aired by local television networks into Indonesian. Television represents a social service which means that the whole Indonesian population must have the right to gain the maximum benefit from aired programs. The actual situation does not reach this aim.

There are millions of children and old people who have difficulty in following subtitles. There are millions of people who aren't able to read fluently and many others who cannot read at all.

Since TV taxes are also paid by them, they have the same rights as educated people and/or expatriates.

A further consideration has to be made: actors strive to play their roles in the best possible way they can. If viewers concentrate on reading subtitles they cannot simultaneously watch an actor's interpretation of a part. It is similar to what happens during business lunches: at the end of the meal we don't know what we have eaten, neither do we know what we have spoken about.

PIERO RONCI

Jakarta