Mega tells party to OK broadcasting bill

Mega tells party to OK broadcasting bill

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri told party legislators Tuesday
to endorse the broadcasting bill despite strong objections by
activists and employees of television and radio stations.

During a meeting with party leaders Tuesday evening, Megawati,
who is also the President, said that the deliberation of the bill
was already over and that legislators had to endorse the draft as
soon as possible.

"The President underlined that since the House special
committee that deliberated the bill had already reached an
agreement, the bill should be endorsed," the party's faction
chairman in the House, Roy B.B. Janis, told The Jakarta Post
after the meeting that ended almost at midnight.

The House on Tuesday had decided to endorse the bill on
Thursday.

Roy said that during the meeting Megawati urged all members to
comply with the procedures and "should there be a strong
rejection by the public, the bill can still be revised".

"There is always room to revise the law. If we can amend the
1945 Constitution, then we can do the same with laws," Roy
remarked.

Earlier on Tuesday, the party's deputy secretary-general,
Pramono Anung, underlined that the PDI Perjuangan fully supported
freedom of the press and that the views of the media community
should be heeded.

"The party supports the freedom of the press and believes that
the media should be accorded a respected position in the
community," Pramono remarked.

The bill was slated to be endorsed during Monday's plenary
session. However, due to the absence of many legislators the
endorsement was put back.

Monday's plenary meeting was also marked by a rowdy protest by
television journalists saying that the bill, which had been under
discussion for the past two years, would only limit the country's
broadcasting industry's freedom and discourage investment.

The bill limits media cross-ownership and gives authority to
the government to issue regulations on broadcasting.

It also restricts TV stations from relaying their programs
across the country without collaborating with local TV stations
by setting up networks.

The campaign over the bill has been gathering steam over the
past months with many private TV stations airing round-the-clock
commercials urging the rejection of the bill.

However, State Minister for Information and Communications
Syamsul Muarif contended that both the House and government had
accommodate the views of the TV stations.

Also on Monday, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung cited the
importance to accommodate the views of the public following the
rejection of the bill by the media community.

In sharp contrast, Megawati said that there was no way for her
as President or the chairwoman of the country's largest party to
halt the deliberation process.

The House of Representatives' Steering Committee (Bamus) has
decided that the broadcasting bill will be brought before a
plenary meeting for endorsement on Thursday, closing off any
chances for further revision.

The House insisted that no more discussions were needed over
the much debated draft saying that the debate stage came to an
end as soon as the House special committee finished its
deliberations earlier this month.

"The endorsement of the broadcasting bill is scheduled for
Nov. 28," House deputy speaker Muhaimin Iskandar said after a
meeting here on Tuesday.

He criticized the media for applying double standards in their
reports. "When the House failed to reach a quorum on the
endorsement of the broadcasting bill, many people were happy," he
said.

A number of legislators admitted that they had received
messages via their cellular phones urging them not to attend
Monday's plenary session.

Noviantika Nasution of the PDI Perjuangan admitted she had
been absent from the meeting, but denied speculation she had
intentionally boycotted it.

"I just got back from Bangkok at around 3:00 p.m. on Monday
after attending an international conference of political
parties," Noviantika claimed.

A legislator from the United Development Party (PPP) disclosed
that the sender of the messages was Uni Lubis from the Indonesian
Broadcasting Television Association (ATVSI).