Govt denies revival of info ministry

Govt denies revival of info ministry

JAKARTA: State Minister of Information and Communication
Sofyan Djalil denied on Friday that the office would be upgraded
into a ministry akin to the information ministry under Soeharto,
which had the power to impose a media ban.

Sofyan was responding to a presidential regulation being
drafted on the jurisdictional transfer of the directorate general
of post and telecommunication from the Ministry of Transportation
to the state minister's office.

According to the draft regulation, the office would be
reestablished as the Ministry of Information.

"But it will not revive the old information ministry (like the
one set up by Soeharto to curb press freedom)," Sofyan said.

He said the new ministry would focus on preparing and
improving information technology (IT) infrastructure and in
educating the public on IT issues. -- JP