Fadli, Batam – Press Council chairman Bagir Manan warned that the Indonesian press was currently facing problems rooted in partisanship, media owners' involvement in politics and phony media. These problems, he said, had derailed the press from its primary service to the public.

Bagir conveyed his concern in a speech at a commemoration event for National Press Day (HPN) in Batam, Riau Islands, on Monday, which was attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla and 32 regional administration heads.

"Honestly, [the press] is having many problems. The misinterpretation of pluralistic thought has resulted in one-sidedness and partisanship. In a democracy, the press should side with the public, not with political powers. The press has become partisan," Bagir, who served as Supreme Court justice between 2001 and 2008, said.

The second problem, according to Bagir, was the influence of media owners, who have aligned themselves with certain political powers.

"Capital owners no longer use press institutions for economic reasons, but to create political power," Bagir said, adding that he regretted that such an issue arose.

The third problem he listed was fake media, which the press should not tolerate. "Fake media comes from threats and blackmail; it's a lowly disease. Fake media exists because there is a space for bad behavior," Bagir said. The chairman said that through the HPN, media was rejecting fake media and forms of fake media practices.

"The press of today should be better than it was in the past," he underlined.

Vice President Kalla called on the media to be the objective eyes and ears of the nation. The press, he said, could either unite or divide a nation.

"Healthy media [leads to] a great nation; or [the opposite], great nations leads to healthy media. The press should not fuel the fire to divide the nation," Kalla said.

Kalla also criticized the mind set of media organizations that believed bad news was good news.

"We have so many interests in this open [democratic] realm. We understand that the function of the press is to spread [news], to remind and to inform," he said.

Also present at the HPN commemoration were People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Zulkifli Hasan, Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara, Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo and a number of foreign envoys.

Margiono, chairman of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), said HPN was the largest meeting for national press groups.

"This commemoration is attended by national press figures and supported by almost all press organizations," Margiono said in his speech as chairman of the HPN organizing committee.

Among the activities hosted during the week-long event was a press exhibition, a launch of journalists' books and a visit to Singapore.

Also during the event the PWI signed a memorandum of understanding on journalism training and media literacy with state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, Artha Graha Peduli foundation and Trans Media Multimedia.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/02/10/press-council-warns-current-media-illness.html