Scholars want debate on broadcasting bill

SEMARANG (JP): Some of the country's leading literary and cultural figures have called for more discussion of the government's proposal to have all foreign television programs dubbed into Indonesian.

Umar Kayam said here on Saturday that he does not like the proposal. He argued that given the low level of dubbing and translating skills in Indonesia such voice-overs would degrade the quality of films.

"Interaction between cultures must be encouraged and pluralism promoted," said Umar, regarded as a giant in Indonesian literature.

"The question of dubbing needs to be discussed at a national level. Don't make such a hasty decision," Umar said.

Separately, MT Arifin from Muhammadiyah University in Surakarta also said dubbing would adversely affect most films.

"Dubbing should only be done to certain films, particularly the ones that have children as a market segment, such as cartoons," he said. "The ones for the adults should be left in their original languages."

"Why the sudden fear of foreign films?" he asked.

Writer Darmanto Jatman also called for more discussion before the proposal, which is incorporated in a broadcasting bill currently before the House of Representatives, becomes law.

He described the trend to dub foreign films as a manifestation of the Third World's xenophobia and inferiority complex.

"The verbal language can be translated but what about the non- verbal ones?" remarked Darmanto who teaches at Diponegoro University in Semarang.

Darmanto then remarked that in our country which is still "feudal-bureaucratic" the government's call quickly becomes an order.

"We should realize that cultural interactions are enjoyable and necessary as long as they aren't just a matter of absorbing everything in sight. We do have to be picky," he said. (har/mds)