'Perspektif' talk show axed

JAKARTA (JP): Perspektif, a popular talk show broadcasted by privately-owned television station Surya Citra Televisi (SCTV), will be off the air for good as of tomorrow.

"SCTV will not air the Perspektif talk show after this Saturday," Hanny Hasyim, director of Yasa Tama Cipta, a production house in charge of producing the talk show, told The Jakarta Post last night.

She declined to explain why the popular but controversial program broadcast every Saturday evening would be scrapped. "I do not know exactly why, you'd better check with SCTV," she said.

Wimar Witoelar, the show's host, said he was notified by the TV station's management of the termination of the program on Wednesday night.

The news came four days after the show featured outspoken journalist Mochtar Lubis last Saturday.

The talkshow had been controversial from the outset, notably because it often presented outspoken figures. Recently, SCTV dropped its talk show featuring Benjamin Mangkudilaga, a judge who decided in favor of Tempo magazine, in its lawsuit against the government, and Abdurrahman Wahid, the enigmatic leader of the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization for unspecified reasons.

Hanny said that she would have to bear a loss of some Rp 50 million (US$22,000) now that her company has lost the contract for 16 of the 26 episodes already signed.

She said that three taped interviews with Irawan Abidin, Director of Information at the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, a noted human rights activist, and Alexander Irwan, an economic and political observer would now be canceled.

"I feel as if I was holding a party, but suddenly the lights were switched off by someone," Wimar told the Post. (imn)