The deaf reject govt plan to dub foreign programs

JAKARTA (JP): The government's plan to dub all foreign television programs has met strong opposition from the Organization For Care of the Deaf.

Organization leaders told Commission VIII of the House of Representatives that the dubbing would deny deaf individuals their right to enjoy foreign TV programs.

"We, the deaf, would not be able to hear the dubbed programs," the organization's spokesman, Dimyati Hakim, said in citing the reason for the organization's objection to the plan.

The plan is included in the bill on broadcasting, which the government and House of Representatives will deliberate on in the near future.

Dimyati proposed that foreign programs should not be dubbed, but subtitled instead. "Films with subtitles are among the few programs deaf people can enjoy," he said.

The plan to dub all foreign programs on local TV stations has received criticism from various quarters. Many have proposed that programs in English should be spared, because people still need them to improve their English.

"It's funny, when we asked the Ministry of Information to use subtitles on television, the ministry refused because they said subtitles are costly. But when we consulted television experts, they said that sign language is more expensive. It's all confusing," Dimyati said.

Data at the Ministry of Social Services shows that the number of deaf people in Indonesia amounted to 600,000.

The association also rejected sign language accompanying news broadcasts on the state-run television station TVRI, on the grounds that it is to fast and difficult to understand.

Dimyati said that the sign language on TV, introduced in 1994, is confusing and does not help the deaf understand what is going on.

Besides, sign language can make deaf people reluctant to study the oral Indonesian which, in turn, affects their communication skills.

"Deaf people are confused with the sign language. Usually they concentrate on the movement of the broadcasters' lips, Dimyati said.

According to Dimyati, all deaf people that the association recently surveyed rejected the sign language because they considered it too difficult to understand.

All of the respondents said that the sign language is too fast, he said. Besides, they also said that the interpreter on the screen's inset is too small and lacks expression.

Dimyati said that in the past, the deaf were not consulted on the plan to use sign language on TV.

During the hearing, the chairman of the Indonesian Disabled People's Association, Koesbiono Sarmanhadi, said that disabled people are still facing discrimination in many sectors, such as in education, transportation and political matters.

"We vote in elections, but we don't have representatives at the House to present our aspirations," Koesbiono, who is also chairman of the International Disabled People's Association for the Asia-Pacific region, said. (31)