KPI wants more say in campaign rules
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) demanded on Tuesday that it be given greater authority in drawing up regulations pertaining to advertisements and announcements placed by political parties in the electronic media to enable the institution to deal with media-related election campaign violations.
KPI chairman Victor Menayang said that in the midst of mounting violations of regulations sanctioning advertising for this year's legislative and presidential elections, the commission only played a peripheral role.
"We were invited to be involved in regulating the election campaign only after scores of non-governmental organizations endorsed our role in (monitoring) the election in a meeting with the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu)," Victor told a seminar organized by the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) here.
Victor said that despite the inclusion the KPI could do nothing to tackle violations of media campaign regulations.
"In past elections, everybody in the country and the world knew there were violations of laws regarding advertising, but many cases escaped the law because of no clear definition," he said.
He said that neither the Elections Law nor Law No. 32/2002 on broadcasting stated the role of the KPI in the polls.
"The Broadcasting Law on which the KPI was founded is not specific about political advertisements. The only article that can be used as a foundation in our role in elections is one that gives the KPI authority to set broadcasting program standards and code of conduct," he said.
The EU EOM said in its final report that although the media had played an important role in educating voters, it however showed a certain degree of bias in favor of certain electoral participant, especially in the direct presidential election.
It said that a state television station, a best-selling national newspaper and a Jakarta-based radio station with a network reaching remote regions had shown a tendency to side with particular presidential candidates.
In its recommendation, the EU EOM said that the KPI should have the authority and the means to effectively regulate electronic media activity during elections.
In a country where reading is not the primary way of getting information, the electronic media is deemed the most effective tool for political candidates to deliver their messages.
During the 2004 presidential election, candidates effectively used the electronic media to promote themselves, as indicated by the large amount of money spent to buy spots on TV.
The Jakarta Post's chief editor Endy Bayuni said that the media had played an indispensable role in bringing Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the presidency.
"After his resignation from the administration of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri earlier this year, Susilo continued to remain in the public eye all the time, thanks to the media which gave him sustained coverage so that he could reach out to voters," he said.
He also said that the media played an important role in educating voters. "Most importantly, we help voters make rational and informed choices," he said.