Jakarta – The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) has reprimanded five television stations for broadcasting programs deemed unsuitable for general audiences during Ramadhan.

KPI deputy chairperson Nina Mutmainah said on Monday that seven Ramadhan shows Waktunya Kita Sahur (It's Time for Pre-dawn Meal) and Ngabuburit on Trans TV, Kampung Sahur Bejo (Pre-dawn Meal at Bejo's Village) on RCTI, Sahur Bersama Srimulat (Pre-dawn Meal with Srimulat) on Indosiar, John Lenong on Trans7 and Sabar Tingkat 2 (Second Grade Patience) on SCTV and regular variety show, Inbox also on SCTV, violated the standard rules of broadcasting by showing physical and verbal abuse against people with disabilities and different sexual orientation.

The KPI also decided that the seven programs had violated the television rating system for showing programs unsuitable for minors despite Semua Umur (General) rating. In a press briefing on Monday, the KPI showed clips in which actors and comedians verbally harassed one another as well as trading sexually themed jokes.

"The shows are mostly broadcast during breaking of the fast and pre-dawn meals, which means that children could also watch them," Nina said during a joint press conference with the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Communications and Information Ministry.

Nina said that just like last year, most of television stations had not responded to reprimands from the commission. "Only one television station has given us a call to talk about the reprimand. The six others have not given any response yet," she said.

Data from the KPI shows that 31 complaints were lodged against Ramadhan-themed shows. In the first two weeks of Ramadhan, KPI received a total of 165 complaints, an increase from 125 complaints over the same period last year.

Head of the MUI's information and communication division, Imam Suhardjo, said that viewers must take drastic measures to deal with vulgar Ramadhan shows. "It is time to boycott the shows that abuse Ramadhan's name with offensive content," Imam said.

He said that the MUI was also concerned by the selection of preachers hired by local television stations to deliver Ramadhan sermons. "Some of them told inaccurate religious stories and performed inappropriate dialogues and scenes," he said.

Imam said that Indosiar, for instance, aired a talk show featuring a preacher with controversial dang dut singer Inul Daratista, known for her "drilling" dance move.

Imam quoted a line from the preacher who commented on Inul's retirement from the music scene, saying that "It's your fault that you prefer to drill, instead of being drilled," the cleric said, insinuating sexual intercourse. MUI urged the KPI and the ministry to factor the violations into their next review of licenses for television stations.

Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said it would be hard for the ministry to just revoke licenses for the television stations. "I prefer holding dialogue between stakeholders to find a solution to this problem," he said.

Tifatul said that what mattered now was finding ways to prevent bad television programming. "We need to find the root cause of the problems and prioritize preventive actions," he said.

Media analyst Ignatius Haryanto said that viewers should demand better programming. "The key to changing programs is the public. The public need to be more critical in order to get better shows," he said. (cor)