Is the Press being Gagged or Are We seeing a Shift in Policy in which they are Complicit?

The latest (2011/12) Press Freedom Index has just been released and it notable that I have not read about it in any local or English Indonesian news outlet.

Indonesia sadly has slipped to 146th more than 10 places compared to last years index and one of the worst in ASEAN behind Vietnam.

Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines among others in ASEAN have a better ranking than we do despite the belief that they are restricted and we have a free press.

To see where we sit globally here is an extract of those above and below us. To read the the full report and see the full list of rankings follow the link – Thanks to Reporters Without Boarders, which BTW is an organisation that Indonesia is trying to oust possibly even ban along with groups such as Greenpeace and other international NGO’s.

http://en.rsf.org/IMG/CLASSEMENT_2012/CLASSEMENT_ANG.pdf

For those of us who comment on other news boards such as the SG we cannot help but notice a shift in emphasis away from factual and critical news reporting and analysis and towards sinetron news. This I am sad to say is a theme through most mainstream news media in Indonesia with the exception of the Islamic Media outlets such as Muslim Daily who in contrast seem to be pushing ever more and with tacit support from the government for Islamic values underpinned by Shariah – oddly whilst ignoring much of the disgraceful actions carried out by those professing the faith.

The SG, Tempo, Post, Kompas, Repulika and many others seem to be going out of their way not to be controversial, especially when condemning either the government, police/TNI and Islam, both generally and the rise in radicalism. In fact the opposite may be true whereby they have entered a period of social conditioning, thus feeding the nations insatiable lust for Nationalism whilst ignoring the rampant issues of corruption, greed and extremism.

The question for debate is simply:

Is the Press being Gagged or Are We seeing a Shift in Policy in which they are Complicit?

DD

Why are the Silent Majority so Quiet?

This morning just outside our house I spotted this … Totally off topic but worthy of an addition…. Neneng’s latest disguise????

Over the last few years it has become obvious that in Indonesia minority groups of any flavor have become increasingly at risk from both violence and legal uncertainty.

The list of dramatic events does not require repeating and quite frankly we don’t have enough space. However it is not the purpose of this post to revisit the many atrocities perpetrated with what appears immunity and in many cases tacit government support, it is to discus why the silent majority stay silent in the face of the clear and systematic destruction of the Indonesian identity, its heritage and the growing unequal division of wealth.  Over 100 million Indonesians live on $2 a day or less whilst we have the regions largest growth in dollar millionaires.

I had originally thought deeply about the profound  psychological damage done by a dictatorship where disagreement with any figure of authority had serious repercussions. Of course this might even mean death and I had been prepared to accept this as a reason. But the truth is most people have not actually ever used their voice even through the years following independence or the years after Suharto’s fall.  Then as now it is the loudest and most threatening who are setting the agenda and the silent stay silent bound to the will of one extremist or another.

What caused the abandonment of democracy in 1959 was the divisions in the political landscape as three groups vied for power. Once again the great majority remained quiet despite the fact the nation that was increasingly isolated and confrontational; it was broke and facing the real possibility of mass starvation. Through the fall of Suharto again the vast majority stayed quiet, likewise with the toppling of Sukarno 30 years previously.

Writing in Bali in 1934 Covarruibias suggested that the Dutch managed their conquest with relative ease because the population were largely indifferent in supporting local leaders because ‘to them the victory of one side or the other meant chiefly a change of masters, somebody else to whom to pay tax.’ 

This seems true in many other cases where the pribumi have cared not one jot about who was calling the tune.  So I put to the table the suggestion that the reason Indonesians don’t speak up at the increasingly obvious corruption, violence, misuse of religion or just about anything else is because they simply do not care until it becomes too late.  The question may be why or it maybe is it already too late and have we already transcended to a nation where religious violence is accepted, where social and economic disparity is a way of life and where any challenges will only be made by someone with another radical agenda?

shush… I’m thinking about Sinetron

Presidential Training ???

Future President Training Facility?  Of course not he’s not Javanese …. It must be the DPR’s big day out.

Apparently there is a Football Game tomorrow

Medical Waste.. Bali’s Nightmare; but where else??

I picked up this story from Bali Daily – the new arm of the Jakarta Post, it makes quite disturbing reading for anyone in Bali and also most probably a wider audience

http://www.thejakartapost.com/bali-daily/2012-06-09/medical-waste-45-bali-hospitals-where-does-it-go.html

Thanks to Agnes Winarti a journalist with the Bali Daily

Thanks to the lad for another fine picture – Cows of course are sacred in Bali

BALI ARTS FESTIVAL

Opens this weekend with a Grand Parade around Puputan Sq in Denpasar. Totally amazing day out starts about 2pm SUNDAY and one can see representatives from most Balinese Villages parade / dance  in their own style – Its bright, its cheerful and its LOUD… Its Gamelan Central – The events that surround it are amazing too -
It still amazes me after all these years that dance and ritual can have evolved so many interpretations on a theme in Bali - 2 weeks of great art starts this Sunday – PS the new bus route is FREE for a month or two – use it if you can its a great way to help with congestion

See you there Mr P…. If we happen to meet I hope you have your earplugs

Thank you Mr Christian for another lovely pic… Made in Bali

DD

As requested

The store is about half way between McD and KFC on the bypass in Sanur heading north
Oz stuff starting about Rp250K
French starting about Rp300K

selection of SA and NZ wines too

They will do discount by the case BTW

There are 2 within about 100m of each other the one furthest north is by far the best

Additionally Artisan are producing a decent wine nowadays made from imported grape extract and buying direct from their place in Kerobokan starts at about Rp130K when buying a case

Enjoy sensibly

DD

The Shop

 

 

unrelated pic – but I like it