INDONESIA: Prabowo protests blocked TV ads

Vice presidential candidate accuses TV stations of siding with other candidates

The Jakarta Post
Friday, June 19, 2009

By Adianto P. Simamora and Dicky Christanto

Vice presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto accused some TV stations of being unfair by refusing to air his commercials with presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"The ads have already passed screenings conducted by the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission and the Indonesian Censorship Agency, so these stations have no right to refuse [to screen them]," Prabowo told a press conference on Thursday.

"I begin to suspect [the TV stations] have already lost their neutrality and have taken sides with other pair."

The Megawati-Prabowo pair has at least five different television advertisements. All of these raise issues critical to the current administration.

Three of these have been screened extensively on several TV stations including Indosiar, SCTV, Metro TV and TVRI. However, the other two have not been aired by most stations including Metro TV and SCTV.

SCTV spokesman Budi Darmawan denied accusations that SCTV had lost its neutrality, saying it had aired the other Megawati-Prabowo advertisements.

"You can confirm this easily by asking anyone who watches our programs if we have aired the pair's advertisements," Budi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

However, he also confirmed that at least one of the Prabowo-Megawati advertisements had not been aired.

"This was because the ads contained an image of an incumbent official, which is forbidden under the advertising code of ethics," he said.

"So if we insist on airing the advertisements, it would be us who violates advertising ethics."

As well as protesting against the banned ads, Prabowo said he and Megawati had vowed not to take monthly salaries and other facilities if elected.

"Instead, we will donate our monthly salaries to those in great need," Prabowo said.

"We will begin taking our monthly salaries when we can see that our working programs are being implemented thoroughly."

Separately, presidential hopeful Jusuf Kalla held a public discussion with thousands of women at a high-end mall in Jakarta.

During the discussion, Kalla encouraged the women to love domestic products. "If not us then who else will buy and use domestic products?" he asked.

"By purchasing and using our domestic products, we are creating more jobs for our countrymen," Kalla said.

While the other two pairs held public activities, incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opted to hold a meeting with his ministers at the state palace.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Matalatta and Attorney General Hendarman Supandji were among those invited.

It is believed Yudhoyono discussed matters relating to good governance and human rights. These topics were also main issues in the first presidential candidate debate, televised Thursday evening.

Date Posted: 6/19/2009