Senior journalist denies he is Habibie's puppet

JAKARTA (JP): Senior journalist Parni Hadi was installed as the new general manager of the official news agency Antara yesterday, replacing Handjojo Nitimihardjo.

Parni, who retains his title as general manager at the Moslem- oriented Republika daily, strongly rejected allegations that he was posted to Antara because he is President Habibie's good friend.

He said he was sure Habibie entrusted him to lead the news agency because the President saw him as a capable journalist and manager rather than a good buddy.

"Pak Habibie knows that I'm not his 'yesman'. He knows only too well that I'm a long-time journalist so I have the capacity to manage this news agency," he said.

Parni called his new post "a dream comes true".

Irked by accusations that he is Habibie's henchman, he said some people used the spirit of democratization to discredit others by spreading rumors that certain officials got their positions thanks to cronyism.

Parni, 50, was the first editor of Republika, which was founded by the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), which is headed by Habibie.

He was a senior editor at Antara long before Republika was founded in 1993.

Parni, who was installed as a member of the People's Consultative Assembly earlier this week, was installed yesterday by Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung because the agency is administered by the state secretariat.

His appointment was made public only on Tuesday and there was no explanation for why Handjojo, who assumed his post in 1986, was replaced.

Akbar said yesterday that there was nothing unusual in the replacement.

"Any media needs to refresh its management and continuously develop its human resources. This is exactly what we are doing now with the Antara leadership," he said.

Parni pledged to make breakthroughs in developing the news agency to meet demands for fast and accurate reporting.

"I'll entrust some regional bureaus to release their news without being edited by the Jakarta office's editors," he said, giving an example.

With almost 25 years of experience in journalism, Parni said, he believed he could manage his both his jobs, in Republika and Antara.

Minister of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Adi Sasono and transmigration minister A.M. Hendropriyono were among the VIPs who attended the ceremony. (emf)