Govt ruling lessens KPI's power

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The power to issue and revoke broadcasting licenses lies in the hands of the government, say a set of four new government regulations, much to the chagrin of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) and lawmakers.

On Nov. 16, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed Government Regulation No. 49/2005 on foreign broadcasters, No. 50/2005 on private broadcasters, No. 51/2005 on community broadcasters and No. 52/2005 on subscription-based broadcasters.

The regulations are designed to give effect to Law No. 32/2002 on broadcasting, which provides that the granting and revocation of licenses is determined by the state through the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI).

KPI member Sasa Djuarsa Sendjaja said on Wednesday that the regulations hampered the obligation of the KPI, whose members are professionals screened by the House of Representatives, to help create a transparent and independent media in the country.

"We'll pursue legal action and seek support from the House to demand revisions. We don't want to return to the old days when information and the media were controlled by the government," Sasa said.

Fear of government repression against the media and the right to access information, which was rampant before the fall of long-time dictator Soeharto in 1998, was the main reason behind the enactment of the Broadcasting Law and the establishment of the KPI.

The KPI, which is accountable to the House, is tasked with monitoring the electronic media and making sure that broadcasters comply with "generally accepted values and norms". The KPI says it has been granted the power to reprimand broadcasters and even revoke their licenses.

Lawmaker Djoko Susilo from the National Mandate Party (PAN) said the regulations undermined the essence of democracy in the broadcasting arena as the government seemed to want to stifle freedom of information.

"The KPI has not performed well, but that should not be used as a pretext for the government to take over the function of representing the public from the commission," he said.

National Awakening Party (PKB) lawmaker Effendi Choirie echoed Djoko's concern, saying the government might be hoping to make money from investors in the broadcasting business.

Defending the regulations, information minister Sofyan Djalil said the state should have the power to grant or revoke licenses as broadcasting frequencies were public property.

"The KPI still has the power to issue recommendations, the full power to monitor content-wise and issue written sanctions. And if they don't agree with the regulations, they can seek a judicial review and let the Supreme Court decide," he said.

Sofyan added that his ministry would involve other relevant institutions in what he referred to as a "collective forum" in processing applications for licenses and in deciding whether to revoke them.

"Believe me, we have no intention of turning the information ministry into what it used to be," he said when asked about possible abuses of power and repression.