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Watchdog calls for tougher broadcasting commission
The upcoming election of new members to the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) should be used to elect more credible commissioners who are able to impose tougher punishment against rampant violations by television stations, a media watchdog has demanded.
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Not strict enough? -- Activists protest against what they see as the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission’s (KPI) slow response over poor-quality TV programs, at a recent rally in Jakarta. (Tempo/-)
The upcoming election of new members to the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) should be used to elect more credible commissioners who are able to impose tougher punishment against rampant violations by television stations, a media watchdog has demanded.
Remotivi, the media watchdog, claimed the KPI had ignored many broadcasting violations that had prompted complaints by the general public.
Remotivi launched an Android application called Rapotivi in February 2015 that collect complaints from the public about the content of all television programs.
In just one year, Rapotivi has received more than 1,000 complaints, which were directly passed on to the KPI, said Remotivi director Muhamad Heychael at a discussion in Jakarta.
“However, less than 10 percent of the complaints have been followed up by the KPI,” he said, adding that according to a Remotivi study late last year, 94 percent of respondents were not satisfied with the KPI’s performance, with most of them saying the content of television programs was still problematic.
Meanwhile, the KPI said it had imposed 266 sanctions on several television networks in 2015, with violations ranging from issues of child and adolescent protection to courtesy and morality as well as journalistic ethics. The figure was higher than the previous year’s 184 sanctions.
Heychael said the new KPI commissioners should be independent, with no involvement in a political party or the broadcasting industry, and also with a commitment to preserve public participation.
“The candidates must have integrity and commit to the transparency principle,” he said.
Registrations for possible KPI commissioners for the 2016-2019 period were accepted from April 12 to 26; resulting in 689 applicants.
The selection committee, consisting of 11 experts from various backgrounds, has eliminated 488 applicants that failed to meet the minimum age limit of 30 years old and education qualification of a bachelor’s degree. Some of the candidates also failed to fulfill administrative requirements.
The remaining 201 hopefuls will face psychological tests by the Institute of Applied Psychology of the University of Indonesia (LPT-UI), an audit by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) and an interview with the selection committee.
Pn June 27, the committee will announce the name of 27 hopefuls to undergo a fit and proper test at the House of Representatives, before the lawmakers finally elect nine new KPI commissioners.
Selection committee head Freddy H. Tulung said 123 of the 201 candidates had experience or advanced knowledge on broadcasting. Only 32 candidates, 16 percent of the total, are women. (vps/bbn)
