Not as free as we think
The press in our former colony, the tiny East Timor, is much more free than ours; the new nation ranks number 57 together with Ghana and a notch above Thailand on a newly released list that ranks 167 countries. In the region, Indonesia, ranked at 117 with Nigeria, is not all that far above Malaysia, which ranks number 122 on the list compiled by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
That wasn't very nice of them. Surely, years after strongman Soeharto stepped down, we should be further up that list? Just look at the crowded newsstands, the multiple choice offered by television and radio stations, all with their own news programs, and so many talking heads that many are fed up with them.
But the RSF, a reputable international organization that had sent out questionnaires with 52 criteria to assess press freedom, said the reason why countries with "free and lively independent media" like Indonesia, India (120th) and the Philippines (111th), ended up at the bottom half of the index, were the physical attacks on -- and murders of -- journalists, and outdated laws.
These factors apparently contributed to the continued fall of Indonesia's RSF ranking. Last year we ranked 110th out of 166 countries, far from number 57 in 2002.
So, while we may think we're a fairly liberal country compared to some neighbors, the brief "RSF verdict" reminds us that there is homework overdue when it comes to taking offense at what has been reported in the public forum.
Much needs to be done to increase the media's professionalism, as violations of ethics remain widespread, for all to see. Professionalism is one tool to ensure the accurate flow of information to the public; yet another is free space for journalists to do their jobs. Ranking low, in terms of global press freedom, signals little understanding here of its importance.
Consider the recent sentence of one year in jail received by editor-in-chief of the leading Tempo magazine Bambang Harymurti, who was declared guilty of defamation, a violation of the Criminal Code inherited from Dutch rule. Organizations concerned with freedom of expression immediately went to the Supreme Court with members of the media, stressing that the Press Law should be used in such cases.
Inspired by the Americans in Iraq, in the martial-law zone of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, journalists were "free" to tail the military in its "embedded" program as long as they didn't go anywhere else, and as long as they could make themselves available for hours of questioning on their reports to the military authorities. With operation costs in Aceh draining media industry budgets, and with only boring one-side stories to show for it, many of the media horde trooped out. Meanwhile, the Acehnese complained that they had been forgotten, and that things had little improved since martial law was lifted.
As for the new President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, he hasn't made his position on press freedom all that clear, but his emphasis on the media's "responsibility" in a campaign speech harks back to the words of former legislators, who had suggested changes to the Press Law. They wanted the introduction of harsher penalties for the press.
Maybe it's a rule of thumb that new governments that represent the renewed spirit of the people -- like Indonesia a few years ago and currently East Timor -- welcome the media with open arms as a symbol of wanting "to listen to what the people say," to borrow from the President himself. But, after the first few years, or the first few months of administrations, we've learned the hard way not to believe that freedom in the honeymoon period will last forever.
So again, one part of the homework of the media would be to ensure the free and accurate flow of information to the public, which would include increasing professionalism.
Another part would be the continued, active role in advocating for even more freedom -- for one, we don't even have a law on free access to information. Freedom, like professionalism, is not a coveted Western import; without the space and tools to pursue its job in facilitating citizens to make informed decisions on matters that concern them, the media would be merely trumpeting the words of the powerful -- of which the people have had more than enough.