TV ads for local goods must utilize RI resources
TV ads for local goods must utilize RI resources
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government and House of Representatives (DPR) agreed
unanimously on Thursday that commercials for domestic products
must use domestic resources, including the artists involved and
shooting locations.
Details of the ruling will still be spelled out in government
regulations. Both Minister of Communications and Information
Syamsul Mu'arif and members of the House special committee
deliberating the broadcasting bill agreed on Thursday that the
move would help boost the domestic industry.
The absence of such a ruling has allowed foreigners to promote
domestic products in locally produced commercials. This has drawn
protests from local production houses and Indonesian artists who
are often sidelined in favor of foreigners.
However, the agreement, reached in a working meeting between
Minister Syamsul and the House commission deliberating the
broadcasting bill, does not necessarily mean a restriction to
commercials of foreign products featuring foreigners taken
overseas.
According to Effendy Choirie of the National Awakening Party
(PKB), the stipulation would be applicable to domestic products
only.
Effendy said regulations on foreign products would be issued
by the government and Indonesian Supervisory Commission or KPI, a
broadcasting supervisory body to be set up later.
The working meeting also agreed that all films and commercials
must be censored before being aired on television and radio
stations.
Earlier, a number of legislators rejected a proposal requiring
local television and radio stations to screen commercials or
films before they are aired.
They argued that censorship by television and radio stations
overlapped with the task of the Film Censorship Agency (BSF).
Effendy and Djoko Susilo of the National Mandate Party (PAN),
and fellow legislator Asnawi Latif of the Daulatul Ummah Faction
(FPDU) asserted on Thursday that for many Indonesians the word of
censorship was frightening.
They suggested that the clause be dropped because all films
distributed officially in Indonesia had already been screened by
BSF.
But legislator Hardisusilo of Golkar faction defended the
clause obliging television and radio stations to carry out
censorship on films and commercials.
He was backed by Minister Syamsul who said that censorship by
BSF was not sufficient.
"We have to improve censorship for films aired on television,"
Syamsul said without explaining why censorship by BSF was not
sufficient.
Syamsul added that the mechanism for censorship of films and
advertisements would be discussed later.
The prolonged debate on the censorship issue prompted
committee chairman Paulus Widiyanto of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) to adjourn the meeting.
Paulus reminded the lawmakers of an earlier agreement that the
old practice -- censoring by BSF of films and commercials
broadcast by television and radio stations -- would continue
should they fail to reach an agreement on the issue.