Media freedom threatened more than ever
The fall of the New Order regime in 1998 and the formation of a new government after democratic elections in 1999 were seen as major boosts for press freedom in Indonesia. But the past two years have seen press freedom in the country take a hit, with several journalists brought up on criminal charges for allegedly defamatory stories. Press Council chairman Ichlasul Amal shared his views on the issue with The Jakarta Post's Sally Piri in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day, which falls on May 3.
Question: The principle of press freedom is actually adequately guaranteed in Indonesia at the moment. But the rapid growth of the industry seems to be hurting this principle. What is your view of this?
Answer: Yes, that is a problem because of the very tight competition among members of the media to produce accurate news. The lack of instruments in a press institution can cause problems, too. For example, when a reporter has to take a bus to pursue a news story, it will take a lot of time for a reporter to get accurate news.
Under the New Order regime, power was used to control the media. But now legal means are preferred. An individual or institution would now rather send a case to court. How do you see this?
This perception comes from the law enforcers, who tend to look at errors in news reporting as regular crimes and thus are inclined to apply the Criminal Code or Civil Code rather than the Press Law (to such cases). Under the Press Law a maximum fine of Rp 500 million (US$54,300) can be imposed. And what is currently becoming a concern is that the draft of the new Criminal Code takes a harder line than the old code. The media will be put in greater danger than before because there are more articles, which I cannot specify now, that could lead a journalist to jail when such errors occur.
Do you see any indications that the government is against freedom of press?
Actually, this is more on an individual basis. Basically, nobody wants to be criticized or discredited by the media. This is human. Everybody has his own way of responding to news. People tend to respond by going to court but the law enforcers apply the Criminal Code rather than the Press Law.
What needs to be done to avoid repression by the government?
Nowadays it is impossible for the government to use repression because that would work like a boomerang. However, the government can use its right to respond to the newspapers that have published the story, following the procedures prescribed by the Press Law.
As far as freedom of the press is concerned, who would be the best to put limitations on the press?
Society, the media and the law. For example, society, which may be considered as militant with regard to specific values, might mobilize to confront the media. And through the law, the government can keep national stability.
What are the challenges for today's media?
Newspapers need sophisticated technology, and that is expensive. The large number of publications at present causes tighter competition among the members of the media. In today's economic conditions, how can they survive? For example, in Medan alone there are at least 20 newspapers. And information technology is growing rapidly around the world. The number of people reading newspapers has tended to drop. However, people who live in rural areas read more newspapers. In order to acquire information technology tools and to survive, the media must have strong assets.
What do you think about the quality of the press in Indonesia?
Generally, it still has not reached the standards that have been achieved in neighboring countries. However, there are several good publications. Ideally, the living standards of the people who work in the media need to be upgraded.