Mega accused of manipulation in 'TVRI' appointments

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri expressed disbelief on Monday over the results of several TV polls about the most favored presidential candidates, while on the same day an outspoken legislator said the appointment of the new president director of state-owned TVRI was an attempt by Megawati's party to misuse the TV station to win her presidential bid.

To back up her justification, Megawati, who never wins top position in any poll, cited the owner of Metro TV station Surya Paloh as an example, because, according to the President, the TV station always put Surya's name in the list of top presidential candidates in its polls.

"Is it because he has entered the presidential race that he always wins the polling? I thought Metro TV was an independent station," the President told a group of the country's senior journalists.

Surprised by the criticism, Surya, who was sitting in the front row of the guests, spontaneously stood up and clapped his hands at the audience. Surya, one of the Golkar Party's possible presidential candidates, also saluted the President.

Megawati also said the members of her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) often expressed concern because in those polls, her name was far behind those of others.

"I say to them, how should I know? -- I don't own a TV station," the President said, bursting into laughter.

A Metro TV reporter, however, said that the station had not carried out any polls of favorite presidential candidates. The survey was made by the station's sister company, Media Indonesia daily. But Surya often appears on his own TV station, sometimes for 30 minutes, to boost support for himself.

The favorite person according to the polls, in which viewers send their choice of favorite candidate to TV stations via short- messaging service (SMS), is often dubbed an "SMS president".

Megawati, however, is not free from such allegations. A legislator from the National Awakening Party (PAN), whose chairman, Amien Rais, is also one of Megawati's rivals, described the replacement of state-owned TVRI TV station management as a systematic attempt to use the power of TV in promoting Megawati in July's presidential election.

"I think the replacement is politically motivated and is aimed at controlling public opinion. It will benefit the ruling party," said Djoko Susilo, chairman of the House of Representatives commission for media and information affairs.

Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, who is also a PDI-P executive, appointed on Tuesday a veteran TVRI reporter, Nasirwan Uyun, as the TV station's new president director, news anchor Nunuk Parwati as news director and Alex Kumara as a program director.

They replaced Hari Sulistiono and Enny Angraeni Hardjanto respectively, who held the position only for 10 months.

"This is just a routine replacement to improve the company's performance. That's all -- nothing fishy," said deputy minister for strategic industries at the Office of the State Minister of State Enterprises Roes Aryawidjaja, after swearing in the new TV management.