Government, House wrap up talks on broadcasting bill

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite criticism from the public over the substance of the broadcasting bill, State Minister for Communication and Information Syamsul Mu'arif said on Monday that the deliberation into the bill was expected to be finished on Tuesday.

The minister said that the pros and cons over some articles in the bill would never been settled.

"We have to pass it into law first. Then, it will be opened for revisions in the future," Syamsul said at a hearing with House's Commission I for information, security and foreign affairs.

The deliberation of the broadcasting bill had been taking place in the past two years. The endorsement of the bill was supposed to have taken place last Sept. But it was delayed until this month, due to opposition from the public.

The broadcasting society and the public at large have urged the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to make revisions to some contentious articles in the bill.

But, legislators and the minister have turned a deaf ear, claiming that the bill has been much better than the Broadcasting Law No. 24/1997, which is no longer effective since the dissolution of the Information Ministry in 1999.

Most of critics expressed their oppositions especially against the establishment of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), an institution mandated by the bill to act as a regulatory body.

Leo Batubara of the Indonesian Press and Broadcasting Society (MPPI), one of the bill's staunchest critics, claimed that the broadcasting bill still retained some "monstrous" articles.

He disclosed that the government had inserted some articles that could be manipulated by the power holders to silence the broadcasting media.

"The final draft of the broadcasting bill shows the return of the era of repression," Leo said at a recent discussion.

Under the bill, KPI has control over, among other things, on the number and scope of broadcasting media, be it local, regional, or national level; limitation of media cross-ownership; procedures of licensing; technicality of broadcasting; advertisements; and the punishment.

Responding to that criticism, Syamsul revealed that the broadcasting society itself was unable to unite its various ideas concerning the existence of KPI.

"One group describes the KPI as a monster, but other group says that KPI is too weak. This debate will never end," Syamsul added.

The minister said that the draft of the broadcasting bill had been brought for discussion with the public. He emphasized that the bill was a result of debates among legislators, state officials, and the public.

Syamsul added the public fear of the government's control over the broadcasting activities was because of different perception into the bill.

"We keep on discussing with the public and disseminating the essence of that bill," he added.

During the hearing, the legislators and the minister also discussed the future of the state television station TVRI and the state radio station RRI.