TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Press Council and its constituents firmly oppose the broadcasting bill currently under deliberation in the Legislative Board of the House of Representatives (DPR). This stance was conveyed by the council chairperson, Ninik Rahayu, in a press conference at the Press Council building in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, May 14.

According to her, this broadcasting bill could be one of the factors impeding press freedom, professionalism, independence, and the production of high-quality journalistic works.

“Why do we reject this bill? Firstly, there is an article that prohibits investigative journalism. This contravenes the mandate in Article 4 of the Law 40,” she said, referring to Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press.

Ninik explained that Law 40/1999 no longer imposes any censorship or ban on broadcasting quality journalistic work. “Investigative media broadcasting is a robust modality in professional journalistic work,” she said.

The second reason concerns the resolution of journalistic disputes. According to Ninik, the bill notes that the dispute settlement will be carried out by an institution with zero mandate to address the ethics of journalistic work.

The bill states that the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) can resolve journalistic disputes specifically in the broadcasting sector, as outlined in Article 8A paragraph (1q) of the latest draft of the revised Broadcasting Law or the March 2024 version of the bill.

“The mandate to resolve disputes related to journalistic work lies with the Press Council, and this is stated in the law,” she stressed. “Thus, this rejection is also based on the fact that when drafting laws and regulations, a harmonization process is necessary to avoid overlap between laws.”

Thirdly, the process of the broadcasting bill violates the Constitutional Court decision No. 91/puu-xviii/2020 that there must be meaningful participation in the preparation of a regulation. “There must be community involvement. It is the people's right to have their opinions heard, the people's right to have their opinions considered,” she added.

Ninik said that the Press Council, as the enforcer of Law 40/1999, was not involved in the process of drafting the broadcasting bill. Nevertheless, the Press Council and its constituents respect the DPR and the government, which have the constitutional authority to formulate regulations, especially those related to press coverage.

DEFARA DHANYA PARAMITHA

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