Harmoko beefs up his ministry

Harmoko beefs up his ministry

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Information Harmoko said yesterday
he is beefing up the personnel of his office to better handle the
rapid flow of information from overseas and domestic demand for
better information.

"We need quality people who can contribute to the effort to
face those challenges," Harmoko said yesterday when he inducted
25 officials of first, second and third echelons at his office.

In his speech, Harmoko said foreign information contains both
negative and positive elements for the government and its people.

The Ministry of Information supervises the mass media
operation in Indonesia besides disseminating information about
government objectives and programs.

The ministry needs more qualified personnel who can strengthen
Indonesia's resilience in politics, ideology, economics, society
and culture, as well as in security and defense, he said.

He also reminded his staff that Indonesia's second 25-year
development plan needs better human resources, which can only be
developed through sound education and training programs.

"We also need to learn from past mistakes, and use past
successes as our springboard to move ahead," he said.

Earlier this week Harmoko promised that the ministry will
crack down on private television stations to curtail broadcasts
that harm children or the nation's cultural values.

"We will study the impact so television broadcasts are not out
of control against the children and nation," Harmoko said.

He also said that the government would take steps to improve
those deemed harmful to both children and culture.

Indonesia has one government-run television channel, and four
private ones.

During the ceremony yesterday, Harmoko inducted R.M.
Simatupang as his aide on press and public opinion, replacing
Sahlan.

The 24 other officials inducted were the ministry's second and
third echelon officials. Among them were Djekson A. Rivai, who
was appointed head of the ministry's training center, and Hamdan
Sjahbeni, appointed head of Yogyakarta station of the state-owned
Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI).

Hasundutan Hutabarat was appointed head of RRI in Bengkulu,
and Tjutju Tjuarna head of RRI in Malang, East Java. (swe)