House Questioning KPI?s Oversight Effort

 
Rofiq Hidayat, Robert Sidauruk
 
The House of Representatives is questioning the efforts being taken by the Indonesia Broadcasting Commission (KPI) in its oversight of TV stations during the current presidential campaign. The House is concerned that many TV stations are showing their partisanship with the current presidential candidates.
 
Mahfudz Siddiq, Chairman of Commission I at the House, sees many TV stations as biased, and therefore the KPI needs to act more aggressively than merely issuing written warnings and must also take legal actions if necessary.
 
“We hope that both presidential candidates are also committed to helping KPI,” said Mr. Siddiq during a hearing session with KPI at the House in Jakarta on Monday.
 
At the same hearing, Tri Tamtomo, a member of Commission I, asserted that the KPI has the authority to take legal action against TV stations that commit violations. Mr. Tamtomo also added that if the KPI is silent on this issue, this constitutes an omission.
 
“There will be a chaos in the absence of law enforcement,” said Mr. Tamtomo.
 
Responding to the criticism, Judhariksawan, KPI’s Chairman, argued that the current situation, where a TV station may lean towards a certain presidential candidate, is rooted in the inadequate regulatory framework under the Broadcasting Law.
 
In order to overcome this issue, Mr. Judhariksawan asserts that it is necessity to strengthen KPI’s authority under the Broadcasting Law so that it can perform its duties more effectively.
 
“This issue is related to the regulatory framework,” asserted Mr. Judhariksawan.
 
Idy Muzayyad, KPI’s Deputy Chairman, added that the KPI has sent written warnings to five TV stations regarding recent violations, Metro TV, TV One, RCTI, Global TV, and MNC TV.
 
Mr. Muzayyad informed that the written warnings were issued as the offending entities conveyed biased information in the form of news and advertisements. For instance, Metro TV, is giving too much exposure to the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla presidential ticket. Incidentally, Metro TV is owned by Surya Paloh, Chairman of the National Democratic Party, which supports the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla ticket.
 
Meanwhile, TV One is giving much exposure to the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa presidential ticket. TV One itself is owned by Aburizal Bakrie, Chairman of the Functional Group Party, which supports Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa.
 
“We have sent written warnings to those five television stations as we consider their content is unbalanced,” said Mr. Muzayyad.
 
Mr. Mizayyad assured that the KPI will continue to oversee TV programs to prevent black campaigning. Further, due to its limited authority, Mr. Mizayyad added that the KPI will enter into cooperation with the General Election Commission (KPU) and General Election Oversight Committee (Bawaslu) to better manage the issue.
 
“We are cooperating with the KPU and Bawaslu as institutions that have broad authority in overseeing general elections,” concluded Mr. Mizayyad.
 
(hot/kc)