`Trijaya' FM Radio denies talk show censorship

`Trijaya' FM Radio denies talk show censorship

JAKARTA (JP): Trijaya FM Radio denied allegations yesterday it
scrapped its live radio talk show due to censorship.

Azhar Nashoba, the chief executive officer of PT Radio Trijaya
Shakti, told The Jakarta Post yesterday the government made no
attempt to stop the program popular for its coverage of sensitive
political issues.

He said the management was just trying to upgrade the Jakarta
Round-Up program.

"We have broadcast this talk show for four years now and we
are worried our listeners will get bored," Azhar said.

He added that listening to radio is like eating something
appetizing, "You better stop before getting full."

The Trijaya radio station, FM 104.7 MHz, terminated the talk
show following interviews with Goenawan Mohammad, the chief
editor of the banned Tempo magazine, and Aberson Marle Sihaloho,
an outspoken legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI).

Noorpud Binarto, a host of the talk show, said that the
suddenness of its termination on Oct. 6 had created speculation
that it was due to the straightforward interviews.

Noorpud said the show, aired for three hours daily from Monday
to Thursday, had been scrapped in efforts at self-censorship,
after airing the two guests' views on the media bans and the
current political system.

Another interviewer, Derek Manangka, a journalist of the Media
Indonesia daily newspaper who works part-time at the radio
station, denied any government pressure had been exerted.

"The talk show has quite a lot of imitators. Trijaya plans to
create a better one," Manangka said.

Republika reported yesterday that Roekmini Koesoemo Astoeti, a
member of the National Commission on Human Rights, and legislator
Ida Yusi Dahlan of the dominant political organization Golkar,
were concerned over the program's being taken off the air. They
both said they missed it.

In a bid to placate its listeners, Azhar guaranteed that the
new program will be better than the Jakarta Round-Up. He
emphasized that no radio program has been banned in Indonesia.

Referring to a survey done by an independent research body, he
said Trijaya currently has 122,000 listeners around the greater
Jakarta area who tune in to the radio station more than an hour
every day.

In a related development, Sabam Sirait, a member of Commission
I of the House of Representatives, said he was sure something
questionable was behind the termination.

Sirait refused to speculate further, saying that it would be
best for him to raise any questions with Minister of Information
Harmoko during a meeting next month with Commission I, which is
in charge of information affairs.

Under a ministerial decree, the government prohibits
privately-run radio and television stations from producing their
own news programs. The stations relay the news programs broadcast
by state radio and television stations.

This policy has motivated broadcasters to rely on their own
in-depth and featurized reporting, as well as live interviews.

When asked about the widely-reported controversy over the
scrapped program, Azhar simply said, "Let's assume that it will
result in free global promotion for our radio station." (09)