Dias Prasongko, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' (DPR) Information Commission asked public broadcasters, RRI and TVRI, to serve as the government's public relations. The decision was made after a hearing between the DPR and the Radio of the Republic of Indonesia (RRI) on Wednesday, November 20.

"The way is by conveying information related to government's policies, programs and achievements to all Indonesians, including those residing in border regions," the hearing's conclusion stated.

DPR Information Commission member Dave Laksono said the request is related to the DPR's desire to have all of their decisions, policies and other information published by official sources.

"The DPR encourages public broadcasters to become the government's official PR since they are a public broadcasting institution. They have to act as the mouthpiece and broadcast information for the benefit of the government," he told Tempo, Thursday, November 21.

The Golkar Party politician also said they are pushing for RRI and TVRI to become government's PR agents given the two companies' wide network. This will automatically address the problem of limited official government information in the periphery, borders and outermost regions.

When asked for a response, TVRI president director Helmy Yahya said that he could not comment on the issue yet because he was abroad and was unable to attend the hearing.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1275435/dpr-asks-rri-tvri-to-act-as-government-pr