Govt ruling lessens KPI's power

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.