Megawati 'won't reopen' ministry of information
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) secretary-general Sutjipto said on Wednesday that President Megawati Soekarnoputri would not reestablish the information ministry, as feared by many activists and figures in the media.
"Ibu Megawati will not reestablish the information ministry but instead set up a communications and information agency that will be chaired by a state minister," Sutjipto said, as quoted by SCTV, a private television station.
He defended the need to have such an agency to disseminate information, especially to people living in remote areas.
"One of the functions of the then information ministry was to provide information to people in remote areas, such as Irian Jaya and Kalimantan," he said.
Political trap
The director of the Information and Democracy Institution (INSIDE), Ahmad Rofiq, said in Purwokerto on Wednesday that the reestablishment of the information ministry could become a political trap for Megawati's administration.
"Such a trap could stand in the way of Megawati's running of the government and her political career," said Ahmad, who is also an expert staff of Sudirman University's rector in Purwokerto.
"It seems to me that this is a very sophisticated political trap that will endanger Megawati's administration and the nationalist force. There are people who have not accepted Megawati as Indonesia's president. So they designed such a scenario to tarnish her image," he said.
He said the reestablishment of the information ministry would be opposed by the press and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The NGOs, he noted, would see the ministry's reestablishment as an effort to muzzle freedom of the press and speech.
However, a political analyst of Gajah Mada University, Affan Gafar, noted on Wednesday that the reestablishment of the information ministry was needed amid threats of national disintegration.
"I realize I have a different view. But the fact is Indonesia is facing separatist movements, such as in Aceh and Irian Jaya. We need to launch an intensive campaign to prevent national disintegration. And I think the information ministry can be tasked to pursue such an effort," he said in Yogyakarta on Wednesday.
ANTARA news agency quoted him as saying that the information ministry should not curb civil rights or control the freedom of the press.
"The information ministry should not be used to control the press as was the case during the Soeharto era. Instead, it should promote unity among Indonesians and provide political education for the general public," he said.
Another political analyst from the same university in Yogyakarta, Riswandha Imawan, disagreed with Affan, saying the reestablishment of the ministry would only hamper the democratic process.
"The function of the information ministry should be handled by the current state secretary. The state secretary can disseminate information from the government via public relations offices to the provinces, regencies and districts all over Indonesia," he said.
Aisyah Aminy, a House of Representatives' member of Commission I for information and foreign affairs, shared Riswandha's view.
She said the existence of an information ministry would only muzzle the press in Indonesia.
A number of journalist associations and NGOs also rejected the idea of reestablishing the information ministry.
The Forum of Medan Journalists (FWM) held a rally on Wednesday in front of North Sumatra's provincial legislature in Medan to reject the reestablishment of the information ministry. The forum said such a ministry would only function to control the press.
In Lampung, The Network of Pro-Democracy Society also held a rally on Wednesday in front of the provincial legislature. It said the society had its own mechanism to disseminate information and that there was no need for an information ministry.
A number of journalist organizations in Makassar also held rallies in Makassar.
Chairman of the Independent Journalists' Alliance Nasrul Alam Asih said whatever such as ministry was called, it would only become a political tool of the government to control the press. (45/bnt)