Information ministry placed under Susilo

JAKARTA (JP): The State Ministry of Communications and Information, which many fear could end up censoring the media, has been placed under the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In the past, state ministries came under the supervision of the state secretariat because their main tasks were to give policy advice to the President and other ministries.

In the new Cabinet's first meeting on Monday, President Megawati Soekarnoputri outlined only the bones of the office's responsibilities, which the state minister, Syamsul Muarif, now has to flesh out.

"What I am supposed to do now is to translate the President's guidelines into concrete action programs," Syamsul explained.

Syamsul said the placing of his office under the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs was in line with the 1999 State Policy Guidelines (GBHN).

President Megawati's move to set up the State Ministry of Communications and Information has elicited a hostile response from the public. It is feared that the office could be used to control the media -- in the same way as the New Order government under Soeharto used the now defunct Information Ministry.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), for instance, sees the information office as "unnecessary" because it could easily be used to suppress freedom of expression in a broad sense.

Although he is yet to be given a specific job description, Syamsul has given assurances that he would not meddle in the freedom of the press.

Syamsul said he would seek input from the National Information Agency (LIN), the organization which the then president Abdurahman Wahid formed after he closed down the unpopular Ministry of Information.

"Besides, I have also talked to Pak Agum Gumelar (transportation minister) on coordination with the Director General for Posts and Telecommunications," he said. (dja)