Laborious deliberation of press bill completed

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives and the government passed new press legislation on Thursday, following a long discussion which resulted in the omission of several key clauses seen by some to be a hindrance to press freedoms.

The draft law was agreed upon after the House's special committee and Minister of Information M. Yunus Yosfiah resolved a number of crucial problems.

The new bill clearly stipulates that to uphold press freedom censorship and press bans would be illegal. Furthermore the national press should be given adequate access to seek and obtain pertinent information.

Bachtiar Aly, a communications expert, said the committee and the government faced "101 problems" in their efforts to develop press freedom and journalistic professionalism.

"Despite many crucial problems, both the special committee and the minister are of the same opinion that freedom of the press must be developed in line with the reform and globalization era," he said after the special committee's meeting here.

Leo Batubara, secretary-general of the Union of Newspaper Publishers (SPS), hailed the bill as a masterpiece of press freedom in the country.

"Compared to all the press laws in the past, this bill is the best we've ever had," said Leo, who also took part in the bill's deliberations.

He said that with the bill, scheduled to be passed into law on Sept. 13, press entrepreneurs would no longer be obliged to obtain publishing licenses from the government.

"Press entrepreneurs will instead be required to announce to the public their publication's name, address and chief editor and the government will have no authority to ban the publication," he said.

He said the press could not develop healthily in the past because the press was not free from government interference, mentioning a list of banned publications.

Atmakusumah Astraatmadja, a media observer, said the bill would encourage press workers to be more professional in the future because the public could resort to legal means to counter inaccurate news.

"Journalists will be required to be more professional and accurate and comply with the presumption of innocence," he remarked, noting the Rp 100 million maximum fine contained in the bill for such violations.

Leo said the bill also allows foreign investors to invest in the local press industry through the capital market.

"But, foreign investment in local media should not be bigger than 49 percent, to prevent foreign investors from dominating," he said.

Leo said that the bill also encourages publishers and journalists to negotiate profit sharing deals and stake ownerships.

"This point is inserted in the bill in order to improve journalists' welfare," he said.

It is expected that with the new law, which replaces Law. No. 21/1982, the role of the Ministry of Information would be significantly reduced.

Legislator Aisyah Amini, who heads the House's Commission I, noted that the ministry's function would be limited to observing the media with little power to stifle the press' movement.

The Press Council, often regarded as the extension of the government's hand, would be comprised completely of journalists with no government representatives. (rms/05)