Press Freedom in Indonesia Considerably Good: Press Council

ANTARAs Photography division exhibits 80 photos to depict the history of Indonesia from 1937 and its journey until today, as part of the 2017 World Press Freedom Day.

Jakarta, 6 Sya’ban 1438/3 May 2017 (MINA) – The press freedom in Indonesia is healthy compared to its neighboring countries in the region where it is still limited, Antara News reported, citing the Press Council as saying on Tuesday.

“I think the condition in our country is better than others; for example Singapore and Malaysia do not have any freedom of press, while in Myanmar and Timor Leste the media is limited,” Yosep Stanley Adi Prasetyo, Press Council chairman, said on World Press Freedom Day 2017 here, Tuesday.

Although the latest reports released by Freedom House and Committee to Protect Journalists stated that Indonesian press was still “half-free,” Stanley insisted the country had freedom of press, as could be seen from the growth of the media business.

“We have 47 thousand media which are growing freely because people can easily develop that business,” he noted.

Among the media in Indonesia, 2,000 are print, 1,500 are radio and television stations, while 43,000 are online.

Regarding the ease of developing a media company, Stanley expressed concern over how every company had to implement competency testing and media verification to maintain the honor of journalism.

The press freedom, which is guaranteed in the system of democracy, must also be run with full responsibility, Stanley stressed. (T/RS05/RS01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)