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.