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.