Unlicensed radio stations airwaves in E. Java

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

"Suara Mitra listeners, tune in next to Newsline from Suara Mitra 91.7 FM," a disc jockey tells listeners from a broadcast studio located at East Java Police Headquarters in Surabaya.

At a glance, the radio station, which employs DJs and three reporters, seems like any other radio station in East Java. It broadcasts news, songs and interactive programs from a small studio located on the second floor of the main building of the police headquarters.

However, the East Java Provincial Broadcasting Commission (KPID) considers the station, with a transmission capacity of three kilowatts, illegal because it does not have an operation permit from the commission.

A member of East Java's KPID, Luthfi Subagyo, said efforts to curb illegal radio stations were being hampered by government institutions operating their own illegal stations.

"The East Java Police, for example, operate Suara Mitra and the East Java provincial administration has JT FM. This is just so ironic. The people who should be cooperating with the KPID to fight clandestine radio stations are in fact operating such radio station themselves," Luthfi told The Jakarta Post.

According to data from the East Java KPID, there are 11 radio stations operating without permits in Surabaya, including Suara Mitra, JT FM and Radio Delta FM, which operates from a four-star hotel in the heart of Surabaya.

According to Law No. 2/2002 on broadcasting, radio stations must be managed by the private sector and approved by the KPID.

Government institutions are allowed to use the services of state-run radio stations or Radio Republik Indonesia to publicize their programs.

"Based on the law, the provincial administration and the police do not need to own radio stations. Let the private sector run the radio business," he said.

A member of East Java's National Radio Broadcasting Association of Indonesia, Wolly Baktiono, said the problem of illegal radio stations began when the Office of the State Minister for Communications became involved in the matter.

"The communications ministry cannot issue permits without the KPID. But the problem is, the ministry has repeatedly issued recommendation letters to radio stations," said Wolly, adding that it was based on these letters that the stations began airing programs.

The head of information and communications at the East Java provincial administration, R. Sujianto, who is also director of Radio JT FM, denied the station was illegal.

"We are not a covert radio station, but operate in accordance with decrees from the minister of communications and information. The guidelines set by the KPID are only recent," he said.

The ministerial decrees must first be annulled first before any changes are made to the regulations from the KPID, he said.

Radio Delta FM program director Wibi Baskoro is of the same view. He said he applied for a permit long before the station began operating nine months ago, but the permit was still pending.

"However, we have obtained a broadcasting permit from the communications ministry and the East Java governor," he said.

The head of Suara Mitra, Rohanuddin, declined to comment on the issue.

The situation is worse outside Surabaya, where clandestine radio stations have mushroomed in small cities. Data from the East Java KPID shows there are 52 such radio stations in Malang, 37 in Jombang, 26 in Kediri, 24 in Jember, 19 in Madiun and eight in Banyuwangi.

"A total of 378 illegal radio stations in East Java do not have permits. That figure may be higher because there are some stations which have not been monitored by the KPID," said Luthfi.

The figure is much higher than the number of authorized radio stations in East Java, which number 106 (99 private radio stations and seven state-run radio stations).

"There are 113 channels or frequencies that are still free to be used, and they are being used by the covert radio stations," said Luthfi, the former chief editor of a local daily in Surabaya.

The operation of illegal radio stations can have a number of adverse effects, including interfering with civil aviation. The frequencies used by illegal radio stations can interfere with the radio frequencies used by commercial pilots, which can put airplanes in danger.

As the country marks National Radio Day on Feb. 11, experts are urging the authorities to deal with the problem of illegal radio stations.