CONTRASTING MEDIA STYLES BLAMED FOR RIFTS BETWEEN INDONESIA AND M'SIA

JAKARTA,Oct 7 (Bernama) -- The contrasting media styles in Indonesia and Malaysia - Indonesia more open and Malaysia more circumspect - is said to be the cause of tensions that often arise in Indonesia against Malaysia.

This was the opinion reached at the end of a two-day forum entitled
"Optimising Indonesia-Malaysia Bilateral Relations" organised by Indonesia's
Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, here Wednesday.

Those present included leaders of media organisations in Indonesia,
historians, diplomats and academicians.

A spokesman for Indonesia's Eminent Persons Group, Musni Umar, said this
could be seen when problems arose following the arrest of three Indonesian
marine and fisheries officers by the Malaysian marine police in August.

In this case, Indonesian media had difficulty getting clarification from the
Malaysian authorities and hence, resulted in anti-Malaysian demonstrations in
the Indonesian capital, he said.


The editorial head of RCTI (Rajawali Citra Television Indonesia), Arif
Suditomo, said imbalanced information also affected the quality of reporting.

Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Triyono Wibowo said several media
organisations in Indonesia had the tendency to "blow up the situation" rather
than educate society on problems confronting them.

The media should be able to give a balanced scenario so that Indonesians
could make informed decisions, he said.

The chief executive of Indonesia's national news agency, Antara, Akhmad
Mukhlis Yusuf, objected to the press freedom in Indonesia being likened to a
"horse out of its barn".

"There's a need to set up a credible board to supervise Indonesia's media
industry, one which can be trusted by Indonesia and Malaysia," he said.

-- BERNAMA