Muhammad Yunus, advocate of freedom advocate
By Johannes Simbolon and Reiner Simanjuntak
JAKARTA (JP): Lots of people are crediting the current press boom to Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus who issued last year's policies which would better protect press freedom.
He revoked the 14-year regulation introduced by his predecessor Harmoko which gave the minister the right to withdraw the licenses of press publications.
Under Harmoko, several newspapers and magazines lost their licenses and new publishers had to spend a lot of time and money getting new ones. Applicants had to fulfill 16 conditions and obtain three different licenses and pay a lot of money to get those licenses.
Yunus has reduced the requirements to only three: Fill in an application form, register the publishing company and present a list of executives. There is no administration fee.
The Indonesian people, who have never accepted anything for free from a government office, were surprised at the fact that Yunus kept his word.
"He is a crazy man," Primus Dorimulu, chief editor of the newly-published monthly magazine Investor, said in praise of Yunus.
"We didn't have to pay a single cent to get the license except for the transportation cost to fetch it from his office. Unbelievable," Primus said.
Born in Rappang, South Sulawesi in 1944, Yunus is married to an East Timorese woman and they have four children. He is known to be a veteran of the East Timor war where his battalion killed the Fretilin chief Nicolao Lobato at the end of 1978.
Yunus ascribed his press policy to the view he had developed when he did research on the role of the press in developing countries in order to complete his short course of study at Fort Leavenworth in the United States in 1979.
Following is an excerpt of The Jakarta Post's interview with Yunus regarding the current press freedom.
Question: The press is booming. What do you think the benefits of the phenomenon are for the public?
Answer: The current press boom is the result of the information ministerial decree of 1998 on press licensing which facilitates press licensing in response to the reform movement.
The essence of the ministerial decree is justice. It gives equal chances to all citizens to undertake ventures in the press industry.
Besides, the decree aims at creating a form of social control among the public. Prior to the decree, press publications were too small in number to cover the whole country. As of 1995, when the country celebrated its golden anniversary, there were only 289 press licenses across the country.
As of today, there are approximately 1,000 press licenses, including more than 630 new ones. The press thus have a wider coverage. As such, they are able to exert stricter social control.
Furthermore, people are concerned over corruption, collusion and nepotism. Indonesia is labeled by the international community one of the worst offenders in this respect. In this reform era, the public demand the elimination of such things.
Didn't we have any social control? We have the Supreme Audit Body (BPK) and the State Financial Comptroller (BPKP). All ministries and provincial administration have their own inspectorates. But why, despite the structure of complete control, do corruption, collusion and nepotism still occur? My analysis is that there was a system which didn't work. That is the reason for press freedom.
We have to empower the press if we want to fight against corruption, collusion and nepotism in this country.
Press freedom is very helpful to the president, ministers and governors in the supervision of the implementation of development programs and the conduct of their subordinates. It is also very helpful to the military and all members of the public since the press will control all aspects of the nation's life.
Thus, the nation shouldn't feel disgusted with the newfound press freedom. Because it helps create a clean and orderly society.
Q: But people are worried about the quality of the press personnel...
A: It's true that some people worry that if there are too many publications and their reporters are of poor quality, they can go off the ethical and legal tracks. I say if they run off the legal tracks, they will face law enforcement according to the existing laws.
Q: Will their licenses be revoked?
A: No. They will face due legal process. There will be no action from the Ministry of Information. We have to comply with the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decision which put a strict line between the executive function and the judiciary. The Ministry of Information is part of the executive. The judiciary are the law enforcers.
Q: Do you think people have felt the benefits of the press freedom?
A: We can see it for ourselves. Today, many people will carefully think before doing wrong. Once they do any wrong, they will have their names published in the newspapers. The government officials also feel the same. They say,"We have to be careful with the press today". Taxi drivers also have the same feeling.
Q: From the economic point of view, do you think having more than 600 press publications is feasible amid the current economic crisis, where advertising is also on the decrease?
A: From the mathematical point of view, it looks unfeasible. But, economic life is not a mathematical life. Economic life is part of social interaction.
The press has the so-called power of information. With this power, it can drive the economy. It gives a lot of information. Also, the multitude of press publications will encourage competition for information quality. As such, the public will get plentiful quality information.
In the past, there were only few press publications. Competition was low. The public didn't really care about information quality. Now, the public has started dumping the publications of low quality.
Quality information will educate the people. It will improve the people's insight, make them broad-minded. This in turn will develop the creativity of the people. There is no society in the world which is narrow-minded but creative. And there is no doubt that broad-minded societies will achieve welfare sooner than those that are narrow-minded.
Q: Have you already seen an improved quality of our press?
A: We can't expect it in two or three months, but in two or three years.
Q: What do you think about the sensationalist publications which are numerous at present?
A: In the beginning they can be sensational in order to attract the public. It's normal. You also sometimes wear exotic dress to attract people's attention. But, you will finally get bored and put on normal clothes.
But, if they violate the law with their sensational stories, take them to court. If they don't, let them go ahead. However, if they go ahead with it, the economic law and the basic principles of the press will punish them. The basic principles of the press include among other things objectivity. If they breach this principle, no one will buy their publications.
Q: How's the progress in the drafting of the new press law?
A: I can't tell you much about the content of the draft law because it is still being discussed at various levels. We hope to come out with the draft in March.
One thing for certain is that the law will open up press freedom more widely. If the law is agreed, people won't need a press license to create a publication.
Q: Will foreign investors be allowed to invest in the country's press industry?
A: In the draft law, we recommend that if the press industry is open for foreign investors, they can't have more than a 50 percent stake. But, it does not specify how much they are able to control at maximum.
Q: Does our press need foreign investment?
A: I think we can't deny that we need investment. You know that the government has issued approximately 1,000 press licenses. In America, there are 11,000 magazines. Here, we have less than 300 magazines.
Q: So, do you think 1,000 press licenses is not too many?
A: If we seriously want to develop the nation, the number is still far from enough. Can you show me newspapers which are published for village or regency markets? Not all towns have enough publications.
If we really want to empower the public, attention should also be given to those living in regencies. Today, they only read the press published in the provincial capitals or Jakarta which contain provincial or national-level information. In fact, people in regencies also face a lot of problems regarding health, education, development programs etc. They also lack mechanisms to control governmental officials.
Q: How many publications, do you think, should the country ideally have?
A: I expect each regency to have at least 10 press licenses, including two or three for newspapers, two or three for tabloids and the remaining licenses for magazines on agriculture, culture and women. Of course, the local community press is only for the consumption of local people. They cannot possibly compete with national publications.
Furthermore, the country's press should not only focus on the local market, but also overseas markets. If the foreign press can market their papers here, why don't the Indonesian press market theirs outside the country, to the Philippines, Malaysia, Korea? Why not?
Q: Do you think Indonesians are able to do that?
A: Why not, if you have good quality? Change the press management, so that there is enough news on the Philippines, Malaysia etc. Don't be too inward looking so that you are overly worried about competition from the press boom.
Why don't the Indonesian people look in that direction? You always talk about globalization but have local thinking. Look to the outside. But, don't expect to be able to do that if you have poor quality. And don't expect good quality if there is no competition.