PDIP-connected family acquires media
PDIP-connected family acquires media
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
With several months to go before election campaigns begin in
earnest there are indications that the ruling party is making a
foray into the print media.
People close to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan) have reportedly revived the old and now defunct
Merdeka daily newspaper and helped refinance the Islamic
Republika daily.
The new owner of Merdeka, Wina Armada Sukardi acknowledged on
Wednesday that he had acquired the daily from its old owner, the
family of the late Burhanuddin Muhammad Diah for Rp 1.5 billion
(US$176,000).
"I just bought the name of Merdeka. I met Ibu Herawati Diah
(the wife Diah), expressed my vision and she agreed to sell it,"
Wina told The Jakarta Post.
But the younger brother of State Minister of State Enterprises
Laksamana Sukardi denied the rumors that the money came from
party supporters or from President Megawati's husband businessman
Taufik Kiemas. Minister Laksamana Sukardi is a top PDI Perjuangan
executive.
The media penetration will certainly strengthen PDI
Perjuangan's media grip as two months ago, Taufik Kiemas launched
the Demokrat tabloid. The party was also believed to be arranging
for the appointment of Derek Manangka as chief editor of RCTI in
March this year.
Wina described the acquisition of the paper as purely
business. It would be more profitable, he said, to buy the paper
than to create a new one since Merdeka was already an established
name.
"It has no relation with PDI Perjuangan or Taufik Kiemas. I
also have a brother from the United Development Party," he said
mentioning Samudra Sukardi who is an executive at the Muslim-
based party.
Merdeka was founded by Diah on Oct. 1, 1945. But, due to
financial difficulties, Diah handed over the management of his
paper to media giant the Jawa Pos group in 1995. But a dispute on
share ownership ensued followed by Jawa Pos group's decision to
return the daily to the Diah family in 1997, which set up the
Rakyat Merdeka daily.
Late last month, Rakyat Merdeka's executive editor was
subjected to a six-month suspended jail sentence and one year
probation for insulting Megawati.
Wina said he provided Rp 45 billion to develop Merdeka daily,
saying that Rp 35 billion would come from his own pocket while
the remaining Rp 10 billion would be provided by friends.
"We will launch Merdeka daily in January, next year." Wina who
was former deputy chief editor of Forum Keadilan magazine and
chief editor Matra magazine, said.
Besides reviving Merdeka, PDI Perjuangan people have
reportedly injected fresh funds into Republika which is owned by
the Indonesian Muslim Intellectual Association (ICMI).
The president of PT Abdi Bangsa, the publisher of Republika,
Erick Tohir, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Two senior journalists of Republika confirmed the news.
"You can't contact him as far as I know, Erick is accompanying
Bapak (Taufik Kiemas) in Singapore," said one of the reporters
who is close to Erick.
The maneuvers by the PDI Perjuangan movers and shakers to
enter the media business is believed to be a bid to help the
campaign in favor of Megawati for the 2004 elections.
Asked whether businessman Anton Sulaiman, whose office
building, the Wisma Penta on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta
used by Merdeka is one of the investors, Wina said: "I did not
know Anton. We rented the office," he asserted.
Anton, who once claimed that he was close to Megawati's
son-in-law, Happy Hapsoro, was a businessman who was in the news
four months ago for his alleged mediation in the controversial
purchase of Russian jet fighters Sukhoi.