Press law needs improvement

By Ignatius Haryanto

This is the first of two articles on Indonesian press law and regulations.

JAKARTA (JP): In its recent conference in Pontianak, the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) expressed the need to improve the press law.

Law No. 1/1984 on the press, passed by the minister of information, has always been a hurdle to people in the press.

Our first press law, Law No. 11/1966, was signed by then president Sukarno and state secretary Mochammad Ichsan on Dec. 12, 1966. Six months later, the law was revised into Law No. 4/1967, which was signed by then acting president Soeharto.

In the revised law, a stipulation in the old law requiring that "printed matter, the content of which may disturb public order, should be seized" was removed.

Fifteen years later the House of Representatives revised this law into Law No. 21/1982, which in many respects altered the substance of the previous law and introduced the press publication business license (SIUPP).

This law basically attempted to replace terms peculiar to the Old Order with those belonging to the New Order. The term "a means for mass mobilization", for example, was replaced with "a means to set development in motion" and the term "guards of the revolution" with "guards of the Pancasila ideology" and so on.

The SIUPP substitute to the publication permit (SIT) in the old law was welcomed with relief by the press as it was thought the change would put an end to two different interests, namely matters related to the code of publications, previously regulated through SIT, and those connected with the code of enterprises, which SIUPP introduced.

However, things are not that simple. There has been a deep wound inflicted on the press during the New Order as no fewer than 40 publications have had their SIT revoked.

Since the introduction of the SIUPP in 1982, no fewer than 6 publications (Prioritas, Sinar Harapan, Monitor, Tempo, Detik and Editor) have had their SIUPP revoked. More publications have had their SIUPP revoked due to irregular publication. Every year about 10 publications have their SIUPP revoked because they fail to publish regularly.

During the discussion on the amendment of the law on the press, even House members were doubtful whether a SIUPP was the same as a SIT, which was revocable.

In fact, the government gave a flexible answer to this question: "The presence of the SIUPP is based on the intention and framework of carrying out better fostering (of the press), particularly with respect to the business of the press.

"SIUPP provisions will, with greater certainty, aim to bring into reality press publications implemented by press companies in the form of statutory bodies and will prioritize an ideal attitude and regulate jointly on the basis of the principle of togetherness as in a family."

The licensing system was unknown during Dutch colonialism. This system was first adopted in Indonesia during the Japanese occupational period. In independent Indonesia, this licensing system was not adopted until October 1958, when the government strove to block opinions about a rebellion taking place in Sumatra and Sulawesi. At the time, this system was implemented by military authorities in Greater Jakarta.

In a state of emergency at the time, the government feared press reports would only cause restlessness among members of the community. Only radios and newspapers were the community's source of information. However, it is yet to be proved whether mass media reports can spur the community into action harmful to the state.

This logic, however, continued until the period of power transition in 1966. Although the law stipulated that to publish a newspaper no publication permit would be needed and no censorship would be imposed, it turned out that the licensing system continued to be enforced.

The first law of the press mentioned a transitional regulation which made it possible for a publication licensing system to be enforced. However, this transitional period took 16 years before SIUPP was finally introduced in 1982.

An essential matter which must be rediscussed in the planned improvement of the press law concerns several institutes and organizations related to the press. We have the Press Council.

In Western Europe, a press council is in fact part of a journalist association and has a respectable position when meeting the government for problems pertaining to press-related policies.

The writer is chairman of the Institute for Press and Development Studies, in Jakarta.