'Perspektif' stoppage

'Perspektif' stoppage

From Sinar

Bertrand Russell said that a government can make its people clever, but it can also make them stupid. I was a little shocked to learn that Perspektif (a popular and much loved interview program on SCTV) had been stopped.

I don't think that SCTV initiated it, but that the stoppage was from outside intervention. It was rather sudden. I really don't understand why it would happen at all, considering that Perspektif tried to enhance the intellectual life of Indonesians, which is useful for developing democracy.

I also don't think that the presence of Mochtar Lubis on Perspektif was the cause of the termination. The program had featured various figures who spoke freely and democratically according to their conscience.

Wimar (the host) once said Perspektif never had a government official as its guest because he or she could not be expected to speak freely and honestly. Government officials all speak the same language.

The axing of Perspektif makes many people increasingly confident that democracy is not granted by those in power but won through long and strenuous struggle.

In the process, "we may loose the battle, but not the war".

MARINUS HANDIYONO

Jakarta