Intellectuals lose main reading stuff after magazine bans

JAKARTA (JP): The intellectual community in Indonesia has lost some of its favorite reading material with the government's ban of Tempo, Editor and DeTIK magazines.

A number of prominent scholars said yesterday the magazines, particularly Tempo, which is the more established of the three, and DeTIK, the newest and most aggressive in its reporting, have been among their main news sources and that their absence will be greatly missed.

"To tell you frankly, these magazines have lifted Indonesia's image in various international forums," said Kwik Kian Gee, a vocal economist and one of the deputy chairmen of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

"They carry scientific and intellectual contents in their articles," Kwik said, adding that one of his most favorite sections in Tempo was Goenawan Mohammad's "Catatan Pinggir" column.

Kwik regretted the government's conduct, saying the spirit of consensus was betrayed.

"If the government can tolerate the bad debts of 49 big conglomerates, why has it adopted such an attitude towards the press?"

Djisman Simanjuntak, another economist, said for him, Tempo was the country's leading news magazine.

"Tempo is many things for me and there's no substitute for it," Djisman, who is a member of the Board of Directors at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said.

"I miss the place to write and communicate my ideas," he said.

Djisman, a professor at the Prasetya Mulya Institute of Management, was one of many scholars who wrote regularly for Tempo.

He said the government should appreciate the efforts of the magazines to give best information to their readers. "I know exactly how Tempo crept from below and eventually reached success," he said.

Noted political scientist Juwono Sudarsono said Indonesian intellectuals read the news magazines to widen their horizons.

"Although I didn't subscribe to any of them, I read them just like I have to have my lunch," said Juwono, the dean of the University of Indonesia's School of Political and Social Sciences.

Juwono however, who also sits on the Press Council which oversees the behavior of the Indonesian press, however said the three magazines had pushed their luck to far.

Yet he is hopeful that a compromise will be found to allow these magazines to publish again.

"In my opinion, the fatal mistake these magazine made was in creating the impression of discord among high ranking officials," he said. "I am optimistic that in the near future they will enter our orbit again. Of course they have to compromise with the government."

Faults

Djumhur Hidayat of the Center of Information and Development Studies (CIDES) also said that while Tempo had been an important source of information for intellectuals the magazine had not been without its faults.

"It has blown up some political issues out of proportion recently," Djumhur said, speculating that this was the reason why it lost its publishing license.

Djumhur felt that he will miss DeTIK more because its arrival was timed with the government's decision to open up the political system in Indonesia.

"I think we all want a magazine like that to make a comeback soon," he said.

Noted poet Emha Ainun Nadjib said the three magazines had been pioneers of greater political openness because they had been bold in reporting politically sensitive issues.

"I praise their courage in exposing issues which threatened their existence," he said.

Emha questioned why the life or death of a magazine rests solely in the hands of one person, the Minister of Information.

"We must fight and give that power back to the people, the holders of sovereignty," he said. (prs)