Laborious deliberation of press bill completed

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)