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Indonesia needs to be more open, not less, to foreign media
Unfortunately, the current policy toward foreign journalists intending to work here, whether on a short visit or to reside, is not supportive of Indonesia’s quest to play a bigger and more active role on the global stage.
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A Japanese tourist (left) photographs the betel-nut-stained tongue of a Waikondo warrior during the 50th Goroka cultural show on Sept. 16, 2006. (AFP/Torsten BLACKWOOD)
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s we celebrate National Press Day this week, we may want to turn our attention to foreign journalists, who have played an important role in reporting on Indonesia, including its evolution from a little-known country to a middle power. As the country’s international profile increases, we need to be more open, not less, to foreign media.
Unfortunately, the current policy toward foreign journalists intending to work here, whether on a short visit or to reside, is not supportive of Indonesia’s quest to play a bigger and more active role on the global stage. Many have complained about the difficulties of securing a journalist visa, and some journalists who had intended to relocate here have opted for Singapore instead, which welcomes them, even though they would rather be where all the action is: here in Indonesia.
The Foreign Ministry processes visa and stay permit applications, but the final decision on whether to grant one is in the hands of a committee of more than a dozen government agencies. They include the Indonesian Military (TNI), the intelligence service and the National Police, which are all primarily focused on national security.
But whatever security concerns they have, they cannot outweigh the massive benefits of the publicity foreign journalists give Indonesia on the international stage. There are bound to be some bad apples, but the default policy should be to facilitate their visits and only take stern action against journalists with hidden political agendas or those who have hostile attitudes. The current policy, with the many requirements the visa applicants must fulfill, seems to hold everyone in suspicion.
Yet we have seen how a more open policy toward foreign media has benefited the country on many occasions, including last year when Indonesia held the Group of 20 presidency.
The country and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo won global plaudits for pulling off the seemingly impossible in hosting the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022 and coming out with a joint declaration, despite deep divisions within the group over the Ukraine war.
But the official welcome to foreign media was only extended to those reporting on the G20. A journalist intending to report on the 20th anniversary commemoration of the Bali bombing last year struggled to get her visa. A European journalist in Singapore hoping to reside in Indonesia gave up after more than two years of trying.
