Anto Hoed Speaks About Limited Airtime of 17 Foreign Songs

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Anto Hoed, the music committee of Jakarta Arts Council, said that a circular issued by the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission of West Java (KPID Jawa Barat) on limiting airtime of 17 English-language songs will stir public polemic.

The issue, Anto deemed, is similar to the controversy on the music draft bill (RUU Permusikan). According to him, many parties in legislative had not finished yet their homework on reviewing the rule but had announced it to the public earlier.

“[When] the public read it, it draws chaos,” said the husband of prominent musician Melly Goeslaw, adding that the bill must be frequently reviewed.

Read also: KPI: 17 Western Songs Curbed from Being Aired in West Java

The music draft bill, he said, will create resistance, and the heat will emerge from various communities, including indie groups. The same goes for the airtime limitation of 17 foreign songs in West Java.

Indonesia, Anto remarked, should learn to see good and bad things. If the government has too much intervention to the public, the country will be similar to a dictatorial state. “While in fact, we are in the era of democracy,” he noted.

As reported earlier, West Java’s broadcasting watchdog issued a circular letter noting a limitation of 17 foreign songs airtime that it deemed containing adult and offensive materials.

Titles of the songs include Dusk Til Dawn (Zayn Malik), Sangria Wine (Camila Cabello ft Pharrell W), Mr. Brightside (The Killers), Love Me Harder (Ariana Grande), Shape of You (Ed Sheeran), Overdose (Chris Brown feat. Agnez Mo), Your Song (Rita Ora), and Versace on the Floor (Bruno Mars) among others.

IRSYAN HASYIM