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).