'No intimidation in TV fees'
'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)