Mudflow, bird flu pose dilemma for media

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 02/09/2007 4:59 PM  |  Opinion

Sirikit Syah, Surabaya

In the first days and weeks of the mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, which began in June last year, everybody blamed PT Lapindo Brantas, the company that was drilling an exploration well in the area when the disaster began. The police questioned the company's engineers and confiscated some machinery.

Both the authorities and pressure groups in the province were concerned about ""who's to blame"", not ""how to save the victims"". Rescue efforts, therefore, were late and traffic management (alternative routes) was not planned right away.

In every newsroom -- I was a chief editor at that time -- it was politically incorrect to refer to the mudflow as a ""mud volcano"" or ""natural disaster"". My instinct that it might and could grow into natural disaster, supported by opinions from volcanologists and geologists from relevant mailing lists, was ignored. It was even enough to spark rumors that PT Lapindo was bribing people in newsrooms.

There was an uneasy feeling, an awkwardness, among journalists and editors in just discussing the matter. The only politically correct attitude was to blame PT Lapindo. If one happened to think differently or raise other possibilities, he/she would have to be ready for scrutiny of their bank accounts to see if a large deposit had been made recently.

The biggest challenge facing the media was that it could not even talk about the mudflow objectively and fairly. Several senior media people, in informal meetings, agreed with me. Some of them admitted how difficult the situation was for them. The most popular radio station in Surabaya was suspected of having accepted a handsome bribe from PT Lapindo because it conducted a daily interactive talk show on the disaster, which included sources from PT Lapindo. The morning talk show was full of questions and condemnation of PT Lapino, and it only fulfilled the standard of covering both sides when it invited PT Lapindo to respond.

Another editor complained of false accusations after his newspaper published a notice from PT Lapindo, in which the company admitted its wrongdoing and said it would be responsible for the damage. Such basic and important information was suspected of being the result of ""a conspiracy between the media and Lapindo to lie to the public"". PT Lapindo was denied its right to reply. What was PT Lapindo supposed to do to communicate with the public then?

If one observes how the media cover the Lapindo case, none of them quote experts who dare to raise dissenting opinions or analyses. The experts are also afraid of being accused of accepting bribes. Or, perhaps, some of them have been brave enough to disclose their academic and scientific analyses, but they were not politically correct enough to make it into the media.

Because the media, the authorities and pressure groups chose the wrong priority, the solution to the mudflow was slow in coming and ineffective. I support an investigation into the Lapindo engineers, a legal solution to the case and a punishment for PT Lapindo if found guilty.

But above all, the government should first consider the importance of public life. The city and provincial governments (Sidoarjo and East Java) said they couldn't do anything to reroute traffic, saying building a toll road was the authority of the central government (an argument which also explains why Jakarta has more toll roads than East Java, and why the toll road from Surabaya doesn't reach Malang).

The economy of East Java is in big trouble. If not closed down, factories in the area of Pasuruan, Porong and Sidoarjo are moving north to Lamongan and Gresik, residential areas are submerged and people have lost their jobs. A newspaper reader wondered if he would have to move his family from Malang to Surabaya if things did not get better, saying he was tired of spending half the day in traffic and arriving late to the office since July. And, quite predictably, the government could not answer such a question.

To make matter worse, Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie could not carry out his state function because his family owns a stake in Lapindo. It would be considered politically incorrect if he approved state money for the mud victims and classified the mudflow as a national disaster so the state had to take responsibility for the safety and welfare of the people affected. Because of Aburizal's awkward position, the victims must bear the consequences.

The Lapindo mud poses an uphill challenge for the media to do the right thing. Thousands of people are now trapped in a sea of mud, and have had their economic, social and cultural rights robbed. The central government must take action, with priority given to the people, and consider any actions against PT Lapindo afterward.

Entering 2007, the Lapindo mudflow is slowly being overshadowed by the panic over avian influenza. The media have been accused of causing a panic among the people, although it is the sources -- government officials, who should be blamed. The government campaigns for mass culls of backyard poultry, citing the danger of the H5N1 virus, while at the same time saying that chickens are safe to eat.

""Dangerous"" and ""safe"" are opposites. One of them must be wrong. When the government says both are right, without further explanation, the people get confused. But the media just follows the government's tune. Perhaps that is the mistake. The media should not only report facts, since facts do not always reflect reality.

National Press Day, which falls on Feb. 9, is a good time for the media to remember their basic responsibility of serving and educating the public.

The writer is a media observer and lecturer at the Surabaya School of Communications.

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