Kalla wants Press Law ammended; Hasyim wants press to educate
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta
The two vice presidential candidates contesting the presidential election runoff spoke during separate sessions of a discussion on press freedom on Thursday, and voiced differing views on the application of the Press Law, which should, theoretically, provide protection for media workers against thin-skinned state officeholders and officials.
Hasyim Muzadi, the running mate of Megawati Soekarnoputri, urged law officers and enforcers to apply the Press Law when handling disputes between members of the public and the press. This, he said, was in line with the universal principle that a law with specific application (the Press Law) takes precedence over a generally applicable law (the Criminal Code).
Meanwhile, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's running mate, Jusuf Kalla, said journalists could be charged under the Criminal Code as the Press Law No. 40/1999 only guaranteed press freedom, but failed to impose the obligation of accountability on media workers.
"Lawmakers deliberated the press bill just after the country entered a new period, where people wanted more freedom of expression. The media, which had previously been under heavy pressure, also celebrated its newfound freedom. But, that doesn't mean that media outlets cannot commit crimes. The law needs to be amended so as to make the press accountable to the public," Kalla told panelists during a discussion at the Nikko Hotel in Central Jakarta.
The discussion was organized in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI).
The panelists included Leo Batubara, a Press Council member, Bimo Nugroho, the deputy chairman of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), AJI chairman Eddy Suprapto, who is also a journalist for the business tabloid Kontan, and Sjafii Maarif, the chairman of the country's second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah.
Kalla's suggestion ran contrary to Leo's concern that the Criminal Code contained no less than 37 articles that could be used to attack press freedom, including the threat of jail for press workers whose reports were deemed by the courts to be libelous.
Sharing Leo's worries was Tempo chief editor Bambang Harymurti, who asked Kalla whether he had any plans to scrap Article 207 of the Criminal Code, a catch-all provision that criminalizes any acts deemed "insulting" to the authorities.
Prosecutors recently demanded a two-year jail sentence for Bambang for allegedly inciting public unrest and defaming businessman Tomy Winata in a report it carried on Tanah Abang market last year. Bambang has been charged under the Criminal Code.
Kalla, however, refused to promise that the Susilo administration would scrap Article 207.
"I believe the press has the right to run a story, and to give the opportunity to a person who feels prejudiced by the report to respond. But the type of response must also depend on the extent to which the report prejudices the person concerned," Kalla said.
Hasyim, who spoke during the first session of the discussion, said that media workers who dedicated themselves to educating the public should not be seen as an enemy.
"The question of press freedom should not be allowed to overshadow the main role of media organizations, that is, to educate people. They should only be regarded as an enemy if they mislead the public," Hasyim said.
Under Megawati's administration, two journalists were convicted and received suspended jail terms for insulting her and House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung respectively.
Sjafii later urged state officeholders and officials not to take umbrage at criticism. However, he also suggested that media outlets should also improve the way in which they frame their criticisms.
Megawati and Hasyim will face Susilo and Kalla in the presidential election runoff scheduled for Sept. 20, unless the Constitutional Court accepts presidential candidate Wiranto's claim that he was deprived of 5.4 million votes in the July 5 polls.