Indonesia Good Example of Press Freedom: Rudiantara

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara said Indonesia had become an example of a country upholding good press freedom.

“In this World Press Freedom Day, Indonesia is acknowledged as one of the good ones,” said Rudiantara in the State Presidential complex, Jakarta, Friday, May 3.

Rudiantara explained the archipelago became a good country for its press freedom because the government did not intervene in the press, which was regulated in Law No. 40 of 1999. The government, he added, did not draft derivative rules from the policy while in fact a regulation commonly had derivative rules, such as a government’s decree or a ministerial decree.

“It shows that the government does not intervene in the press realm. So that [condition] becomes a reference for other countries that the freedom of press in Indonesia is running well,” he added. 

Read: Press Freedom in Indonesia Still Faces Threats

According to Rudiantara, the government constantly maintain and uphold the freedom of the press in the country. However, the freedom still had limitations, such as journalistic codes and reporters' professionalism.

“One of them is by conducting check and balance, covering both sides, those are things that commonly set aside, including by online media. So then we, the government, support this by advancing the reporters’ competency,” he added.

Moreover, Rudiantara mentioned the challenge in this year's World Press Freedom Day was to ensure the implementation of the code of ethics and reporters’ competency among thousands of mass media outlets in Indonesia.

FRISKI RIANA