Internet users warned over immorality

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Internet users should be aware of the impact of the electronic media, Information Minister Harmoko said yesterday.

The government wants Internet users to only look at the positive information not the negative, Harmoko told a press conference after opening a meeting of the National Broadcasting Council.

"The impact of the Internet is out of our control because it is an interconnection between global and personal computers," he said. Harmoko added there is always a possibility to copy the hardware.

Resilience

"I am sure that Indonesians have moral, mental and cultural resilience. They are able to pick up what is good and what is bad," said Harmoko, who is also the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council.

According to Harmoko, the government plans to sponsor a bill on broadcasting. It will be submitted to the House of Representatives "as soon as possible".

The bill will cover the usage of the Internet, he said.

Touching on the influence of foreign TV, Harmoko insisted that foreigners are not allowed to build studios in Indonesia because "we have to protect national interests".

"If foreign TV networks want to use our Palapa satellite, the government would have no objection," he added.

Harmoko said earlier that business factors in broadcasting are quite common nowadays.

"We only have to put the business side in proper proportion so that the networks will not loose their idealism."

National unity

Indonesian networks shouldn't neglect idealism because it is inseparable from education, he said. According to Harmoko exposing growing social gaps on TV could affect national unity.

The minister also appealed to private TV stations to keep a good balance between local and imported programs. Concern has been expressed about the excessive amount of violence and sex on TV and its impact on the children.

Harmoko urged TV stations to survey their audiences' characteristics and habits, and to increase their broadcasting quality to serve their audiences better.

The National Broadcasting Council's task is to inform the government about the impact of imported TV programs on Indonesian society.

Commenting on the two Sinar magazine reporters being questioned for trespassing while spying on a daughter of the late president Sukarno, Harmoko said that the Indonesian Journalists' Association should investigate the case. (05)