Surabaya's mayor to be reprimanded
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. said yesterday that he has ensured Surabaya's mayor will be reprimanded for threatening journalists.
"I called East Java Governor Basofi Sudirman this morning to ask him to rebuke the mayor of Surabaya. A government official should protect his citizens, including the press," Yogie told reporters after meeting President Soeharto at Bina Graha.
An official should not go around threatening people, he added.
Surabaya Mayor Sunarto Sumoprawiro lashed out at the Indonesian press with uncharacteristically harsh words last Friday. He threatened to clamp down on journalists who write negative articles about Governor Basofi.
According to local press accounts, Sunarto said that "I'm the authority here. No matter what you do, I will prevail. Don't you dare write bad stuff, or I'll make you my enemy. I'll seek you out. I'll demolish your homes and turn them into parks."
His remarks drew criticism from officials and senior journalists in Jakarta.
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said government officials should accept criticism leveled against them. He described the mayor's reaction as "inappropriate".
The Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Journalists, Sofyan Lubis, appealed to government officials not to judge critical journalists hastily as if they all had bad intentions.
Leading sociologist Mely G. Tan of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences said that the mayor's reaction reflected that Indonesians, particularly government officials, do not take kindly to criticism.
"Openness towards criticism has not yet emerged in our society. Government officials still take criticism personally and regard it as a threat to their positions," Mely told Antara.
Her only suggestion was that journalist write in a way that does not directly criticize an official.
Mely underlined, however, that the journalists' association should not let the matter rest and should even file a lawsuit against the mayor.
If the association dismissed the case "other officials would learn that threatening journalists does not carry real risk," she said. (emb)