Media gets rap for fueling nation's woes
Media gets rap for fueling nation's woes
Rita A.Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
The country's media must bear responsibility for creating social, economic and political instability through its shallow and incomprehensive coverage of national issues, a senior journalist has said.
Jakob Oetama, chief editor of Kompas daily told participants at the annual meeting of Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, here on Friday night that the media was capable of giving early warnings, providing accurate information and background on possible disintegration threats or riots throughout the country.
"I felt very sad and guilty when conflicts, disturbances and separatist activities took place in several areas such as Ambon in Maluku, Sampit (Kalimantan) and most recently in Poso in Sulawesi. A widely-circulated paper like Kompas and other prominent publications could be doing something more substantial to stop them rather than exposing and covering the disturbances only from a news angle," Jakob said.
"I must admit that our (the media) understanding of and sensitivity to the main and real problems faced by Indonesia and its people are still minimal. Most journalists are generalists who know only a little about each subject," he added.
Jakob said that all of the social, religious and political conflicts currently affecting Indonesia were basically caused by a lack of understanding and a reluctance to learn about other people's habits, cultures and religions.
"Many of us still believe that our religion and culture are the best. But do we want to know or let alone to learn more about others? Javanese people only know about theirs. This also happens with other ethnic groups," Jakob said.
He urged the media and religious and social organizations like Muhammadiyah to jointly launch forceful intellectual and cultural campaigns to promote pluralism. "Reinventing Indonesia or the enlightenment of Indonesia is urgently needed to get the nation out of crisis," Jakob said.
Meanwhile, Minister of National Education Malik Fajar, who is also a prominent Muhammadiyah figure, said Muhammadiyah has been consistent in advocating intellectual and moral campaigns to build a more modern, egalitarian and intellectual society.
Din Syamsyudin, secretary general of Muhammadiyah, asserted that the organization had always adjusted to changes in society. The theme of this year's meeting is national enlightenment and cultural propagation, which requires the organization to redefine its position and its roles within the multi-cultural Indonesian society.
"Religious leaders must recognize their congregations. They must understand each group has its own characteristics. Therefore all religious lessons and teachings must be suited to their demands, their conditions," said Syamsudin, who is a member of the organization's special team to promote cultural propagation.
Saturday's sessions covered gender issues, Islam and culture and other topics.
The meeting runs until Sunday afternoon.