Jakarta Globe, Robertus
Wardi & Novy Lumanauw, June 15, 2013
Nusa Dua. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called on the country’s news chiefs to contribute to order and tolerance in the country by ensuring greater objectivity in their reporting.
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| President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrives at the Chief Editors Forum in Bali on Friday. (Rumgapres Photo) |
Nusa Dua. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called on the country’s news chiefs to contribute to order and tolerance in the country by ensuring greater objectivity in their reporting.
In his
keynote speech at the annual Chief Editors Forum in Bali on Friday, the
president said the news media had a responsibility to publish news which did
not set out to inflame cultural or religious sensitivities.
“I ask for
the support of the media, in this case the chief editors of the country’s news
media, to help keep the peace in our society,” he said.
“We must
maintain tolerance and unity among the public.”
Yudhoyono
added he wanted to use the rest of his time in office to build up a “good
society,” and urged the chief editors to join him in the endeavor through more
objective news reporting.
“A good
society is part of the kind of civilization that we should strive for. We have
to reach for a level of civilization that is developed and advanced,” he said.
He also
said that the news media had a responsibility to put into proper context the
democratic achievements made over the past 15 years, and to address the issues
still to be resolved.
“I have to
say a lot of what we’ve done over the years has been justified,” Yudhoyono
said.
“But if
we’re being completely open and transparent, there are still a lot of issues
where we haven’t done enough.”
He did not
cite examples of issues he believed had been adequately addressed or not, but
said that in general the country’s social and democratic development was on the
right track and should be maintained, with the help of the news media.
“This is
the essence of sustainability amid change. We must guard that which is good,
and fix that which is not,” he said.
Muhammad
Ihsan, the chairman of the forum’s organizing committee and chief editor of the
business publication Warta Ekonomi, said that while Indonesia enjoyed one of
the freest press climates in Asia, that privilege was sometimes abused by
irresponsible parties pushing out sensationalist or willfully provocative
reports.
He said the
problem was compounded by the Indonesian public’s frenzied adoption of social
media platforms as one of their primary sources of news — a dangerous scenario,
Ihsan said, given the lack of journalistic standards for this media.
He
identified political meddling as another threat to press objectivity, saying it
was no secret that well-placed politicians were using their media connections
to take public swipes at their opponents.
Ihsan said
while many of these attacks could reasonably be discounted as groundless, the
problem was that the generally low level of education of the Indonesian public
meant that most people tended to buy into such tendentious reporting.
“It’s truly
sad to see such nonsensical claims being repeated in our mass media,” he said.
“It’s
ironic that in an era where more than ever individuals have the potential to be
the drivers of positive change, certain groups with vested interests are doing
the very opposite.”
He said
that in light of all these factors, the Chief Editors Forum had drawn up a
draft declaration to cement the participants’ commitment to journalistic
principles, with the ultimate purpose of contributing to national development.
Wahyu
Muryadi, the forum chairman and chief editor of Tempo Magazine, said the
participants had identified five sectors where the role of the press was
considered important in helping to maximize contributions toward overall
development.
He said
these sectors were infrastructure, food security, energy security, finance, and
technology and information.
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