Jakarta – Government interference in the media did not end with the fall of the Soeharto regime in 1998, academics and journalists said Wednesday. Speaking during a discussion on media at the Press Council building, the University of Indonesia's Effendi Gazali said although the government did not control the press as strictly as it did in the New Order through issuing licenses, it continued to intervene in more subtle ways.
Participants said the Ministry of Communication and Information's current plan to register all print media in the country and the persistent rumors that a politically sensitive TV show could be banned indicated an increased trend toward state intervention in the media.
Leo Batubara from the Press Council said that the ministry's plan to register publishers would bypass the Press Council's authority. "If the government wants to list publishers, why not ask the press council board (to do it) instead?" he said.
The government's attitude toward the politically satirical TV show Republik BBM – or "Drunken Republic" – indicated a shift away from press freedom, Effendi said.
Effendi is a co-host of the outspoken show which airs on Indosiar at 10 p.m. every Monday.
"Although the Vice President (Jusuf Kalla) has denied (trying to) ban the show, the controversy over the possible banning of the program reminds us of the sensitivity of the government to critics," he said.
Kalla reportedly raised the show in a closed-door meeting on April 8 with the owners of seven private television stations.
Kalla also reportedly asked the owners to reduce the graphic or controversial content of their stations' shows, including programs containing violence, sexuality and supernatural stories.
The meeting between Kalla and the owners created fear among observers that the government might still want to control the press.
"The recent meeting has resulted in persistent rumors of the banning of the Republik BBM program," Effendi said.
"I expect the government to stop having such unscheduled meetings because they are likely to trouble the public." Effendi proposed that the government hold more frequent open meeting with the mass media, not only media owners. "The meetings must also include independent bodies," he said.