'No intimidation in TV fees'

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Information R. Hartono defended yesterday the plan to use military personnel to help state television network TVRI collect contributions from television owners.

Speaking after a ceremony commemorating the ministry's 52nd anniversary, Hartono said the move was appropriate as long as the military personnel's presence was not aimed at intimidating people.

"Each province is given the right to seek their own means of collecting TV contributions. As long as the presence of Bakorstanasda is needed, I think there's no problem with it," Hartono said.

The minister was commenting on the controversial plan to use members of the Agency for the Coordination of Support for the Development of National Stability in Jakarta (Bakorstanasda Jaya) to collect television fees.

The fees vary from Rp 1,000 (37 U.S. cents) to Rp 6,000 ($2.20) each month for each television set, depending on the size of the screen and whether it is a color TV.

It commonly accepted that people often "neglect" to pay their television fees.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, more than 66 percent of Indonesian households own a television set.

The decision to use military personnel drew scathing criticism from the Indonesian Consumers Foundation and legislators.

They argued that the new measure could spark fear among people who feared coercive tactics would be used.

The latest criticism came from law professor Muladi of Semarang's Diponegoro University in Central Java. He said yesterday the use of the military for such a menial task would only cast a negative light on Indonesia.

Jakarta's military commander, Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso, said the approach was not aimed at intimidating recalcitrant TV owners, but to facilitate the collection of the fees which television owners were required to pay under current regulations.

Sutiyoso said yesterday that he would withdraw his personnel if their presence alongside TV fee collectors intimidated people.

"If the presence of Armed Forces officers makes people worried I will withdraw them," said Sutiyoso, who is also commander of the agency's Jakarta branch.

He confirmed that the agency had been officially asked by the Ministry of Information's Directorate General of Radio, Television and Film to help TVRI collect the fees.

In collecting the fees the TVRI staff will have to enter many Armed Forces members' homes and military dormitories.

"If the TVRI personnel were not accompanied by military officers, they would probably be afraid to enter the military homes and dormitories," Sutiyoso said.

Finance

Hartono echoed Sutiyoso's comments. "The presence of the agency is to encourage people to fulfill their duty, not intimidate them," Hartono said, adding that the body's presence was necessary to ensure a "safe, smooth, and effective" collection.

The government has tried several approaches to encourage the proper payment of the television fees, including assigning a private company to do the collecting.

Hartono said the fees was crucial in helping cover the high operational costs of the state-run TVRI, which cannot survive on the funds allocated in the State budget.

Even though TVRI is not allowed to broadcast advertisements, it does receive 12.5 percent of the revenues from advertisements from each the five private television stations.

"If I'm not mistaken it's about Rp 15 billion from each private station every year. But even that isn't enough," Hartono said.

Hartono said it would depend on the local situation as to whether the agency's personnel would be used in other provinces.

"Not all provinces will necessarily need to involve the agency's personnel... Only in provinces where certain conditions prevail will the agency be involved," he said.

He said it would be up to each province to draft a mechanism which would encourage television set owners to pay their fees.

"It will be up to the head of the Ministry of Information's provincial office to say whether the agency's involvement is needed." (imn/aan/jun)