House completes redeliberation of broadcasting bill

JAKARTA (JP): A House of Representatives special committee completed yesterday the redeliberation of the broadcasting bill, introducing significant change to the document including the imposition of broadcasting fees on television owners.

According to the bill, the Ministry of Information will collect the monthly fee, the amount of which must be consulted with the House.

Currently a foundation under state-owned television station TVRI carries out the task, charging television owners a monthly fee between Rp 1,000 (U.S. 37 cents) and Rp 6,000 per TV set depending on the size of the screen and whether it is a color TV.

TVRI was under fire last month as it planned to enlist military personnel to escort its employees collecting the fees.

More than 66 percent of Indonesia's 45.6 million households own a TV set, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. Indonesia's population currently stands at 200 million.

The bill does not suggest the abolition of the foundation, but chairman of the committee H.R. Yunus Kuslan Mukmin said the body would be attached to the Ministry of Information.

He did not elaborate on the function of the foundation now that the collection of the TV fee would be handled by the ministry.

Mukmin also said the bill did not recommend the use of military troops in the fee collection. "The government will set up a mechanism for the fee collection, but I don't think it will involve the military," he said.

Under the new broadcasting bill, defiant TV owners who do not pay the fee will face administrative sanctions, ranging from a warning to a TV blackout.

TVRI income will also come from the state budget, contributions from private TV stations and state-owned radio RRI.

The final draft of the bill accommodates the government proposal to ban all forms of advertisement on TVRI, to ban private TV stations in provincial capitals, to set up a government directive on special broadcasting stations, and to extend the term of license given to private TV stations from five years to 10 years.

As for special broadcasting stations, the bill says they must ensure that their programs are transmitted to their subscribers only. According to the bill, the stations are also subject to regulations applied to regular television stations.

The amendment was introduced in 15 verses and seven articles of the bill.

Minister of Information R. Hartono, on behalf of the government, and representatives of House factions signed the final draft yesterday. The committee will seek approval of the House in a plenary session scheduled for Sept. 18.

Mukmin hailed Hartono in his closing speech for attending all of the redeliberation process, including several closed meetings during which the minister was not obliged to attend.

It took the 21 pressed-for-time committee members exactly two weeks to complete the unprecedented second deliberation. The House passed the bill last December, but President Soeharto requested an amendment due to problematic articles.

The government had in the past always enacted a bill endorsed by the House. (amd)