-41-

tooi printed the Prlncen Report, but has been less explicit than Kempas on
the subject of political prisoners. It is a sophisticated, large-circulation
newspaper. It is also considered by most as either equivalent in quality to
Kompas or better, but some interviewees considered it on occasion to be
sensational on religious issues.

Publications of the*Intellectual Group. By 1969 the dailies expressing

the views of many of the intellectuals or academics form another sizeable group
of the Djakarta press. (Although three out of the four have close connections
with ex—PSI figures, and the fourth, Kami, also Invites them to express their
views on its pages, it would be wrong to call them the PSI or Socialist
group, as the PSI has never been reestablished.) Although Nusantara*s
circulation was officially only 7,500 (insiders claimed it to be 3 times that
figure) and Kami's 10,000, this group has been strengthened by the reappearance
of the two 'Old papers, Indonesia Rava and Pedoman. As both these papers are
technically strong, of good quality, and presumably are also not -in financial
straits, they should by now have each a circulation of at leas't 15,000, which
would give the group a circulation of 47,500 at least and a considerable
weight. None of these papers has provincial branch editions.

Nusantara (circ. 7,500) is by now an old independent paper, banned

in 1960 and republished in 1967. It is connected with the Sumitro group but
has no official party ties. Nusantara is pro-Westem and is labeled
independent and progressive. Its quality is considered similar to that of the
two Christian papers; it is of interest to the political academic elite. In
addition, it is considered to be the voice of those responsible for economic
development.

Kami (circ. 10,000), was established by the "New Order" Students'

Action Front in June 1966, but is now independent (as a result of the split
in KAMI, the Action Front.) Its point of view is that of the students and
younger intellectuals. It generally comes out decidedly for the rule of law,
the freedom of the press (it defended both Suluh Marhaen and El Bahar despite
political disagreement), religious and racial toleration and the defense of
human rights. In 1968 Kami printed the Prlncen Report editorially. In spite
 -42-

of its financial and technical weakness, it is considered journalistically among

the best dailies.

Ihdonesia Rava, the prestigious old daily edited by Mochtar Lubis,

reappeared in 1969 after many years of absence. It expresses the views of
that group of intellectuals allied to PSI, the small banned Socialist Party
which has not been reestablished, whose members did not cooperate with the
Sukarno regime but either went abroad or Spent years as political prisoners.
It has close faculty relations; it has of course no official party ties, calls
itself independent, and expresses Sumitro's economic views; it is journalist­
ically among the best papers, is considered informed and constructive, and has
some highbrow fea'tures.

Pedoman, also an old, prestigious paper reappearing after years of

suppression, is also the forum of* a group of intellectuals with ex-PSI
sympathies. This is the group around Soedjatmoko which might be called less
extreme, whose members cooperated to a certain degree with the Sukarno regime.

The Publications of the Independents. Although in 1966 all dailies

were ordered to be connected with some political or social group (and not
financed by Government), there are still several dailies in Djakarta that
both call themselves independent and that are either genuinely independent,
or so opportunistic as to serve a number of different financial backers in
quick succession.

The Djakarta Times (circ. 8,000) is Independent and the most important
English language daily, mainly read by the.diplomatic corps and other
foreigners. Nevertheless it has some interest for the Indonesian politically
minded as it is supposed to reflect the views of the Foreign Office.

Merdeka, founded in 1945, was once a prestigious paper connected

with the PNI; later it was banned because of its prominent part in the BPS
effort. It reappeared after the Coup, claimed independence and exhibited an
anti-Sukamo stand; today’s Merdeka. circulation 10,000, is edited'by Mr. Diah,
 -43-

who was Minister of Information during 1967-1968, and got the paper ample
financial backing. The paper is now of uncertain political leaning and claims
to be independent. It is extremely opportunistic, apparently pleasing
different financial backers, but has even been accused of supporting surrepti­
tiously a pro-Sukamo, PNI-left-wlng position.

A sensationalist paper supposedly independent is Revelusloner (circ.

11,000). It has taken a radical anti-Sukarno stand and is considered one of
the lowest quality papers from a journalistic point of view, in short, a
"yellow" paper.

There seems to be a considerably larger percentage of independents

among the provincial papers—some of them old established family concerns.
In addition there exist in the provinces papers that cater, to regional ethnic
groups, not identifying themselves with any one of the five Djakarta main
groups, e.g., Bandung's Sipatahuman, which speaks for the Sundanese community.

The Periodicals

Classifications and Statistics. The available statistics use such

changing and conflicting classifications, with figures from different sources
and even two lists in the same publication, disagreeing wildly; Ministry of
Information lists are full of arithmetical mistakes, so that it is extremely
difficult to arrive at any satisfactory picture of the role of periodicals.

The Almanak Pers 1954/55 has a fairly detailed list of periodicals

under the heading madjalah (Magazines), although the list is not quite as
detailed as the Almanak's list of dailies. For most periodicals the frequency
of publication is mentioned. Some were in, fact papers which had previously
been published as dailies that, because of financial and/or news print
difficulties, were being published only every three days. There are weekj.ies”,
either in newspaper or in magazine format, a few periodicals appearing three
times a month, semi-monthlies, bi-monthlies, quarterlies, and some that
appear at irregular intervals.
 -44-

The Almanak gives us no information about the frequency of- periodicals

in the period prior to 1954, only the overall number of all magazines and
their circulation according to language, for the years 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953
and 1954. (In 1953 magazines in Dutch were still one-fifth of all magazines
with one-ninth to one-eighth of the total circulation.) The number of
periodicals rose slowly from 226 in 1950 to 286 in 1954 and the circulation
from 1,096,600 to 1,654,100.

Almanak in 1955 mentions the type of enterprise (Bentuk perusahaan)

publishing each periodical; companies (limited or unlimited), partnerships,
cooperatives or mutual—aid—bodies, foundations and private individuals are
listed in the Almanak for 1955, but neither Government or Army is mentioned.

In the 19.62 Petundjuk Pers the non-daily periodicals are listed under
three separate headings; weekly newspapers (Surat Kabar Mingguan). meaning
weeklies in newspaper format, general magazines (madjalah umum). and
specialized magazines (mad.jalah chusus).

Again the publishing body is mentioned but, iri addition to companies,

foundations, and the now very rare private publisher or private club, appear
a considerable number of organizations (organisasi) and a large number
of Government publications (pemerintah). The Government acted as publisher
for various government departments, for many army units, for the Scientific
Council and the Religious Council, for universities and technological
institutes. Approximately 63 out of the total of 108 periodicals listed were
then published by the Government of Indonesia. The change occurring in
Indonesian media with the establishment of "Guided Democracy" was striking.
During the following years, until the unsuccessful coup of September 30, 1965,
the number of periodicals and their overall ’circulation, which had greatly
declined since 1959, started to rise again considerably. According to the
list prepared by the Ministry of Information at the end of 1963 they had
more than doubled within one year. The Petundjuk Pers 1961. 1962. and 1963
use in their overall comparative annual lists not the actual frequencies
of publication, i.e., every three days, weekly, three—times—a—month, semi­
monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, and irregular, but use only three frequencies_
weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly; they do not explain their method of entering
 -45-

all periodicals into these categories. In all the annual lists prepared
by the Ministry of Information a third and new method of classifying non­
daily periodicals into four groups is used, three groups classified accord­
ing to frequency of publication, weeklies, semi-monthlies, and monthlies
and a fourth group of government publications (peremintah). In these lists
the name, the circulation figure (according to the publishing permit) and
the amount of and format of news print used per month are listed according
to regions. No further details are given. There is no indication at all
as to the frequency of publication of the government publications. (Accord­
ing to the Petundjuk Pers* detailed lists governmeht publications were
listed among the weekly newspapers, there were several weekly and semi-monthly
Government magazines, most were monthlies, bi-monthlies, or quarterlies,
and several were published irregularly.)

Government publications were the one category of magazines which multi­

plied most spectacularly between 1962 and 1963, from approximately 63 to 154,
and from a circulation of approximately 400,000 or less (in the Petundjuk Pers
1962 list the circulation figures of many periodicals are mis-slng—therefore
this is only an estimate)" to 937,650. During 1964 the volume of periodicals.
Increased further, reaching the peak figure of 490 periodicals with a total
circulation of 4,141,850. Out of these 180 were government publications with
a circulation of 1,064,900. The figures for the end of 1965 naturally
reflect the dislocation* caused by the unsuccessful coup of September 30, 1985.

All publications of Communist organizations and of Communist-front

organizations were banned outright in October 1965. So were publications
of other organizations and groups charged with being involved in the Gestapu
affair. By December 31, 1965, periodl^cals had declined to 290 with a circu­
lation of 3,141,850. Significantly the greatest decline was that of Govern­
ment publications to nearly half. While the daily papers had declined only very
little in 1965 and even surpassed in 1966 their 1964 peak record, periodicals
did not revive under the "New Order," but continued to decline to 267 a,nd a
circulation of only 2,905,900, (the 1957 level). Government publications
declining most spectacularly to only 55 with a circulation of 327,000. As
to the frequency of periodicals--while weeklies gained, monthlies (presumably
 -46-

including also all bi-monthlies, quarterlies, and irregulars) declined to

the extremely low figurfe of 70 with a circulation of 702,950.

According to the Ministry of Information list for December 31, 1967

(which was still considered inflated by several informants), there had
occurred a drastic decline- in thfe numbers and in the circulation of,
Indonesian non-daily periodicals during the year of the abolition of
subsidies to newsprint and acute paper shortage. There were then only 165
non-daily periodicals left with a combined circulation of 1,414,400. Many
provincial cities that traditionally published quite a number of period-
I
icals were now without any. While 14 cities outside Djakarta still published
two-thirds of all the;,weeklies, semi-monthlies were only published in six
locations outside .Djakarta and monthlies in eight.

A considerable number of political periodicals which had sprung up

in the period after the Coup- to influence the political struggle of that
period, had by now disappeared from the scene. ,

Examples are the weekly Abad Muslimin, which compaigned in 1966

successively against PKI, Gestapu (those responsible for the 1965 Coup
attempt), Subandrio and Sukarno from a Moslem point of view; Derap Indonesia
Muda, a left wing PNI weekly which had supported Subandrio's plan to establish
the "Barlsan Sukarno" to shore up Sukarno's prestige, and ceased publication
in March 1966 with Subandrio's decline; Djakarta Minggu, a weekly of’-^the
progressive Moslem high school students which represented their views within
KAPPI, the then extremely active high school students' action front which
ceased publication in August 1966: Warta Peladjar, a PNI leftist student
weekly, which frequently critidized KAMI (The University Students' Action
Front) and KAPPI's anti-Sukarno activities and ceased publication during 1966.
These were periodicals which were completely absorbed in the violent short-
range polemics of the year 1966.

The thi^ee categories of non-daily periodicals were, by the end of 1967,

92 weeklies with a circulation of 863,950, 18 semi-monthlies with a circulation
of 181,750 and 55 monthlies with a circulation of 368,700.
 -A7-

One kind of weekly seems not to be.included in this list. These are
the Sunday editions of the technically more stable dally papers which have
more pictures, are generally written in a lighter vein and have more non­
political material. From Information gathered in my interviews it seems
that a considerable number of the wives and daughters of urban newspaper
readers read newspapers on weekdays only rather cursorily but rely on the
weekly Sunday edition for most of their information.

25
The Chief Periodicals and Their Characteristics. Among Djakarta
dailies Angkatan Bersendjata, Berita Yudha, Djayakarta, Merdeka, Operas! and
Pelopor have Sunday editions. All of these have pictures of pretty girls on
the first page; all of them have some material on film, popular music, sports,
and all of them carry stories, usually oh adventure and espionage. Angkatan
Bersendjata adds local humor and cartoons to this mixture; Berita Yudha has
pictures of bikini-clad film stars, but also brings some more serious informa­
tional material on the Army, Islam and children; Minggu Operas! seems to tend
to sensational treatment of Indonesian morals; Merdeka has the same general mix­
ture but adds some curiously mixed material on the Soviet Union; Djayakarta is
the only more serious of the Sunday editions, bringing not only popular
information on the war in Vietnam, but also discussing Indonesian .problems such
as the Rule of Law and overcrowded schools. A February 1968 number even
contained an article by Mochtar Lubis, the hero of Indonesian journalism who
stood so firmly for the principle of freedom of the press.

Medan and Surabaya dailies have similar Sunday editions. While they
play some role as a medium for popular information, their political signi­
ficance is generally small. There are:

a) Eight Sunday weeklies in newspaper format appearing iri Djakarta

in early 1968 (the list is somewhat- different from that on the official end
of the 1967 list), Andjangsana (circ. 12,500 on 1967 lipt) is completely light­
weight and sensational (scandals, sex, horoscopes, bikinis, love "poetry");

25
I add my own evaluation of early 1968 copies of many periodicals
to the other, rather scanty, information available.
 Table 2

Number and Circulation Figures of All Non-Daily Periodicals, 1955-1967

End of Semi-
Source Year Weeklies Monthlies Monthlies Total

Almanak Pers
1954/55 1950 226 1,096,600
1951 " 2'32 1,387,650
1952 216 1,212,600
1953 231 1,401,300
1954 286 l,654,i00
Petundjuk
Pers 1961 1955 76 669,650 63 452,900 208 1,364,050 347 2,486,600
1956 83 815,500 46 378,900 172 1,445,650 301 2,640,050
1957 88 1,048,650 39 343,500 153 1,492,600 280 2,884,750
1958 92 1,346,550 38 356,250 143 1,338,000 273 3,040,800
1959 81 1,499,300 36 538,000 113 1,069,200 230 3,106,500
1960 - - - —

1961 45 627,500 20 213,500 72 419,700 137 1,260,700

Petundjuk Government
Pers 1962 1962 40 630,500 15 189,000 53 434,300 Periodical 108 1,253,800
Ministry of Publications
Information
Lists 1963 82 1,030,500 *34 290,250 101 883,950 154 937,650 371 3,142,350
1964 114 1,386,500 49 459,750 147 1,230,700 180 1,064,900 490 4,141,850
1965 84 1,153,800 25 334,050 90 856,300 97 677,750 296 3,021,900
1966 114 1,542,200 28 333,750 70 703,950 55 327,000 267 .2,905,900
1967 94 908,950 18 181,750 55 368,700 167 1,459,400
-
 -49-

Duiila Film is exclusively on films; Arena Minggu deals with films and popular
songs; Pharma Bhakti deals with films. The other four are slightly more
serious—Fad.jar (circ. 9,000 on the 1967 list) discusses President Soeharto
and modernization in addition to the usual film star pictures. According
to a Djakarta informant this weekly is close to the "Merdeka" group, and was
influential in the period after the Coup but had by late 1967 rather a small
circulation. Harmoni discusses student activities, the food situation. Vietnam
^ -
and the International Moslem conference; it has a popular Moslem slant.
Indonesia Djaya is similar, bringing popular information on education, crime
and the Vietnam war. According to Paget’s information, its political
affiliation is with PNI-ASU. Tamasja deals with film, sports, educatiop and
technology.

b) Six weeklies in magazine format also belong to-this group:

Bharata—started January 1968—art and culture.

Mingguan Djaia (circ. 21,000)—general, social and culture"—

discusses Djakarta transportation problems. General Giap, in addition to the
usual horoscopes, etc. It is more serious, does not deal in scandals.
It is owned by the Djakarta Municipal Government.

Selecta (circ. 65,250)—A Monday paper, deals with film, popular

music, sports, as well as a considerable amount of gossip and scandal orl
Sukarno, Lana Turner and President Johnson. A typical women's paper,
illustrated.

Si Kuntjung (circ. 75,000 from 1967 figures)—listed in 1967 under

monthlies. By early 1968 it was a weekly. A cheap—Rp. 11,50—reader for
primary school children. It contains stories, cartoons, puzzles and simple
black and white drawings.

Tjaraka (circ. 15,000 from 1967 figures) is, like most of the others,
slanted towards a female public (flower arrangement) but contains, also
popular information on foreign countries.

Varia (circ. 50,000 from 1967 figures. It claims in February 1968

already 60,000). It contains the usual material on film, popular music and
 -50-

for the feminine public an article on twins, triplets and quadruplets, as

well as tearjerklng stories. In addition it discusses Djakarta industry,
amateur broadcasting. Army maneuvers, has a political editorial and an
article by the well known and controversial journalist Princen. It is an
independent journal, Illustrated.

c) Specialized weeklies;

Ekonomi (circ. 11,000), specializing in economic reporting.

Saptamarga (circ. 25,000) is, according to my informant, a Djakarta

editor, "the official, internal, dull. Army weekly."

Tjakrawala (circ. 25,000) is the official weekly of the Department of

the Navy.

d) Weeklies of political significance:

Ampera Review (English language, circ. 5,000) presumably connected

with the daily Ampera. Contains outspoken political comment and criticism.
Criticizes existing political parties for cliqueishness. Technically very
weak, hard to read.

Indonesian Observer (English language, circ. 6,000) was a daily which

became a weekly in February 1967. Is published by the Merdeka group;
is headed by Heradata Diah, wife of the editor of Merdeka. According to Mr.
Paget it manifests almost identical editorial policy.

Mahasiswa Indonesia (Djakarta edition circ. 15,000). According to

Paget this weekly is headed by a supporter of one of Subandrio's erstwhile

Government colleagues.

Although in the summer of 1966 the paper constantly proclaimed

its anti-Communlsm, it was regarded by most students as
falling far short of fully supporting the position of KAMI.
... In June 1966 ... it was using the term "Gestok" rather
than "Gestapu," was emphasizing the dangers of Western
political liberalism, and was demanding the main-tenance
of the prohibition against rock and' roll music—attitudes
taken by many students at that time as clear indicators
of opposition to the New Order.

According to the Djakarta editor-informant, it is a dull and-drab paper

 51
- -

Mahaslswa Indonesia (Bandung, circ. 10,000) is an entirely separate

paper. According to the editor-informant it is much better than the Djakarta
weekly. Here is Paget's information:

. . . headed by Ryandi S., Awan Karmawan Barhan and Iwan

Ramelan, commenced publication three months after the
Djakarta paper, competed for circulation in the latter's
t^^^itory and very soon became the major student weekly
in both Djakarta and West Java. The Bandung paper
utilized the best literary and journalistic talent
among both Bandung and Djakarta Students. Its cartoons
were so clever, biting and unsparing of all persons and
groups that they were soon assembled in exhibitions which
toured the nation. These talents, coupled with political
views radically reformist in nature, led to considerable
circulation and made the paper essential reading for all
political elites. As the paper primarily representing
the Bandung branch of KAMI, its views were invariably
stronger than those of HARIAN KAMI or of the parent
organization in Djakarta. The Bandung MAHASISWA INDONESIA
led the muckraking campaign into the personal affairs of
President Sukarno and even in the summer of 1967 still
demanded that he be brought to trial. It remains the
boldest and most consistently antl-Establishment of
Indonesian newspapers.

Pdmbina (circ. 7,000) is another weekly of political significance;

it is affiliated to an independent, modernist Islamic group.

e) Semi-monthlies in magazine format:

Mayapada (circ. 10,000)—"general, film and theatre"—contains gossip

on the jet set, stories, as well as some popular information such as birth
control activities in India.

Purnama (circ. 10,000)—"film, theatre, music."

Among the seven semi-monthlies listed in the 1967 list for Djakarta,
there is the specialized magazine. Bulletin Koperasi (circ. 1,250) and the
Moslem magazine, Gema Islam.

Skets Massa (circ. 35,000). This semi-monthly appears in Surabaya

in small magazine format and carries on its title the words "all fact." This
is a popular education magazine, has sections about popular science, explains
 -52-

the advantages of eating bulgur wheat and campaigns for good relations between
different religious groups.

f) Monthlies:

Intisari (circ. "50,000) is a Reader's Digest—type popular information

magazine, including a large amount of popular information, both domestic and
foreign. In large demand among the educated public that is not especially
interested in politics.. Is controlled by the Catholic Party.

Ragibuana (circ. 11,000) is a similar Reader's Digest-type popular

Information magazine, Intisari's rival, under Christian (Protestant) influence.
It attempts to develop in its readers a social conscience, is moralist in
tone and Includes a considerable amount of Western material.

Tjakal sari (circ. unknown; is not yet on 1967 list. It began

appearing in December 1967 with official Indonesian military blessing). This
is Reader's Digest in Indonesian translation.

Keluarga (circ. 6,000) is a family magazine edited by Mrs. Diah,

therefore another in the chain of periodicals under the influence of the
curious Merdeka group. The paper is in large magazine format, "is trying
to become like 'Life'" and includes color photos (very rare for Indonesian
magazines) and brings besides fashion, recipes, traditional wedding dresses
in different parts of Indonesia, also articles on the problems, of only
children and of handicapped children.

Mutiara (circ. 7,000). This is a women's magazine published by the

Christian (Protestant) Women's Organization. It contains the full range of
the typical Western women's magazine.

There are two literary monthlies: Sastra (circ. 10,000) contains

Indonesian stories and poems. In its January 1968 issue two person—
nlities, one from the dally Kami and the other from Berita Yudha Minggu,
testify to its anti-Sukarno and anti-Communist character.

Horison (circ. 7,000) is a somewhat more highbrow literary magazine

with a considerable number of foreign literary contributions. It discusses
Intellectual and philosophical issues, is edited by Mochtar Lubis; independent.
 - 53-

The only overt political monthly appearing In Djakarta In 1968 (and

known to me) Is Arena Merahputlh. subtitle "The loyal opposition's forum."
Although the March 1968 Issue Is called No. 19, third year, It does not appear
on the 1967 list. It Is an ambitious magazine dealing with the ^Indonesian
the PMI, Communism, Democracy and Socialism In Asia, economic
development, Indonesian air transport, and so on.

There are among Djakarta monthlies several specialized publications

■«(

which I had no opportunity to examine. Examples are Gema Pharmasl' (circ. 2,000),
Gama Soslal (clrc. 500), or an Army monthly entitled A.K.A.B.R.I. (clrc. 10,000),
a Moslem monthly, Mosllm Courier (circ. 3,000). The specialized monthly
obviously dealing with press affairs, Pers dan Revolusl (clrc. 5,000) I
unfortunately have had no opportunity to examine.

Radio

The Technical and Political History of Radio

t
Broadcasting under the Dutch. Radio broadcasting was started In Indonesia
by a private radio station, when Batavia Radio Verenlglng (BRV) with studios In
Djakarta (then Batavia) went on the air In the twenties. Later It was known
as the "Nederlands-Indlsche Radio Omroep Maatschapply" (NIROM) which was
licensed by the Netherlands-East Indies Government to Collect fees from its
listeners. It broadcast in Dutch. During the years 1933-1936 Indonesian
listeners in the main cities of Java.formed their own radio associations in
order to organize Indonesian language broadcasting "based on Oriental culture."
In 1938 these associations united Into a league and received a subsidy from
the Government. This, according to the description of Almanak Pers 1954/55.
remained the situation up to the Japanese occupation in 1942..

A slightly more natlonalistlcally-tinged version of the early history

of broadcasting in Indonesia is that contained in the UNESCO "Report of
survey mission on the production and marketing of low-cost radio receivers In
Asia," Part II - 4, p. 5, which was collated in 1964;
 -54-

The purpose of NIROM was to maintain communications between

the Dutch citizens living in the Netherlands East Indies
and their homeland and to disseminate Information issued
by the Dutch administration and to introduce Western culture.
For this purpose many relay stations were established and
listeners' fees collected. For the Dutch wishing to keep in
touch with their homeland, short wave radio receivers were
imported. NIROM .as a consequence also operated a short
wave broadcast. During these years the Indonesian national
radio organizations operated under restrictions. Fot
example, a maximum celling of 250 watts on transmitting power
of stations existed and they were allowed frequencies only
between 60 and 150 metre bands. These organizations were
stationed in Djakarta, then Batavia (VORO), Bandung (VORL),
and Soerabaya (SRV), Jogjakarta (MAVRO) and Semarang. These
stations were later merged into one body, the PPRK, with its
head office in Djakarta. They continued in operation
until 1942.

Broadcasting Under the Japanese. The Japanese Military Occupation

Government confiscated all broadcasting stations. The Japanese then con­
siderably expanded and modernized the radio network and introduced Indonesians
both as professionals and as technicians into the operation of a modern
broadcasting system. The chief purpose of this system was, of course, rigidly
supervised Japanese propaganda. In order to make sure that they had the
monopoly on information and propaganda, the authorities registered all radio
sets and sealed them after making them useless for the reception of foreign
broadcasts. While we have no figures for the years of Japanese occupation,
the fact that the number of all radio sets in 1941 was 108,520 and in 1951
about double, 213,038, suggests that considerable growth of the listening
public took place under Japanese rule.

Broadcasting After Independence. After the proclamation of Indonesian

Independence on August 17, 1945, the Indonesian employees in all broadcasting
stations took possession of the transmitters. On September 11, 1945, a
conference of representatives from all the studios in Java was held in Djakarta
and "Radio Republik Indonesia" was founded. On April 1, 1946, this body was
acknowledged as a Government Office by the Ministry of Information and its
first head appointed by the Minister of Information.
 -55-

Thus, radio has been from the start of independent Indonesian statehood
a government—owned and controlled medium and its declared purpose was to serve
the "Revolution," then the physical, military struggle for independence.

RRI (Radio Republik Indonesia) put up 21 more broadcasting- stations' in

addition to those taken over from the Japanese. Temporarily, with the Dutch
reoccupation of much of Java, most stations were lost to RRI which nevertheless
continued to broadcast from the mountain regions with the help of mobile trans­
mitters, until its return to the towns and cities after the ultimate -transfer
of sovereignty in December 1949. By 1955 RRI operated 25 transmitters for .
domestic broadcasting from locations throughout Indonesia, and 8 special
transmitters for overseas broadcasting.

The Almanak Pers 1954/55 describes the alms of RRI as follows:

R.R.I.'s home-programs are aimed at mental reforming of the

population to be a free and Independent nation. As the
Indonesian culture has been influenced by foreign cultures
for centuries and this influence is still increasing by the
import of films and music from abroad, the R.R.I.' pays much
attention to the National Culture, In order to guarantee
that the main currents in the community^ will not be neglected
by the R.R.I., on September 11, 1954, the Minister of
Information installed ah Advisory Council. ..."

Thus, even during the "liberal" period radio was a rather different
medium than the press. It was wholly oriented to an anti-foreign, nationalistic
Ideology. However, its leadership seems to have had some reservations as to
a monolithic approach to the heterpgeneous Indonesian population.

Indonesian Broadcasting Stations and'Their Reach

The technical facilities of RRI in 1964 have been described in a

UNESCO report (UNESCO—Report of survey mission on the production and marketing
of low-cost radio receivers in Asia). Here.are the main points of this
report:

For historical reasons, geographical conditions and because medium

wave is technically not suitable for the tropics, short wave is used for
 56-

internal service in Indonesia as well as for external broadcasts. There are

38 broadcasting stations in the country with a total of 600 KW: a central
one in Djakarta, three inter-island stations, 28 stations for regional,
regional and local or local programs only (see Table 3); in addition there
are 6 stations in the planning stage.

The area where internal broadcasts may be heard sufficiently clearly

is claimed to cover only 30% to 40% of the total country. Radio receivers
are subject to a listening fee of Rp. 7.5 per month. RRI claims approximately
1.5 million registered receivers and estimates the number of listeners at
between 5 and ,10 millions. In order to increase the listening area the RRI
is planning to Increase its transmitting power to 2,000 KW by 1969 from its
present KW. Sttidio facilities as well as transmitting facilities are few

in number, extremely old and in poor condition.

This 1964 description of the UNESCO team still seems 1;o be a fairly
accurate description of the technical condition of RRI. The plans for
modernization and considerable expansion mentioned by the authorities in
1964 seem not to have been realized. Adequate reception is still far from
nationwide because of the weakness of many transmitters. Wide rural areas
are still not supplied with electricity. Radio-sets are still very expensive,
largely because of the high tax levied on them. The license fee, which has
risen only to Rp. 10, is insignificant in comparison. While the number of
1.5 million receivers claimed by RRI in 1964 was grossly exaggerated, there
had been significant growth up to 1966; no statistics are available since
then, but it can be assumed that the number of receivers has risen
considerably since'the 1,367,000 report-ed officially for 1966 (see table,

p. 64).

RRI Programs in 1968. In spring 1968 RRI was broadcasting three

programs for the Djakarta area—"Ibu Kota," (Capital City), "Nasional (National)
and "Chusus" (Specialized); "Chusus" is oriented toward the military and the
1• 26
police.

9 ft°Based on RRI programs, January and February, 1968, RRI—Rentjana

Siaran Programa: Ibu-Kota/Nasional/Chusus (mimeographed).
 Table 3
*
Distribution of Broadcasting in Indonesia in 1964

LOCATION OP RRl STA'nONS (by RRl)

^ ^^PHILIPPINES
SOUTH CHINA
SEA
-PACIFIC
O C B A N

BRUNEI ^ Sangir and

•V Talaud Isl..
SULAWESItj
SEA /Morotal
Mena do I
lalmahera
^ V-’^^^Ttmdjungninan ir-Qat.^ 0---^Soa^iu
iu ’•)
•n^ ^danokwatU I
'> -t KALIMANTA.N Tidure Is1.to!l *
O !iiii.''il5R!UO O I "^Linttga Isl. ©p
^ontlanak Samarinda
\r PiliimijiLDi’ iSinEkoD ^ ’■^^Sorong
- % OP.iaiMn; Qalikpapdn
A POs.0 ^ •' -
SUL A^V^E Scraro
e;C^. \Djiim!>iW ^f^\Pa\(^l.,lnan8, ^ Xnandia?mnsin P“>I°P8>^‘ 'V' S 1
»gA ----- r- X K? h
Ambon
VeButon'^ A L U K U Banda Isl • .
AW A SEA «<* X
Tehiklioiung
[UMiciung „Tlirelv)
Tlirobon >r- --.t'
•i- KiiSano r ScinarannSumeneP
JJakima® Singaradja ^FLORES SEA
^^...Ma-ai’am NUSATENGGARA Merauke'’

0 / A W A Per
Suniba , ■^Kjjpang (Indonesia)

Taken froth UNESCO Report, "Survey Mission on tbd Production

and Marketing of Low Cost Radio Receivers in Asia," 1S64.
Appendix 1, p. 15. '
 - 58
-

On weekdays they are on the air for 15 hours, 12 hours and 10 hours,
respectively, on Sundays somewhat longer—15 hours, 15 hours and 11 hours,
respectively. In addition, once every few weeks "Chusus" broadcasts a
Wayang (shadow) play, which lasts from 11 o'clock on Saturday evening until
6 o'clock on Sunday morning.

All three stations start broadcasting at 6 a.m.. ",Ibu Kota" and

"Nasional" have a break between 3 and 5 in the afternoon, "Chusus" between
8 and 3 o'clock. "Ibu Kota" and "Nasional" usually have between 7-8 hours
of shared programs, "Chusus" broadcasts only a few shared news and musical
programs. Radio "Ibu Kota" broadcasts the greatest amount of news and
announcements of the three-^-a little over three hours divided into 14 short
programs, ten of which are relayed from the central RRI studio, "Sentral,"
in Djakarta which supplies news to RRI stations all over the cpuntry;
"Nasional" broadcasts about two hours of news and announcements; "Chusus"
less than one hour. These include international, domestic, local, economic,
financial, shipping, weather and sports news, ten minutes of commentary and
announcements.

On all three Djakarta broadcasting stations music is the single most

important item of the program—about six hours on "Ibu Kota," nearly six hours
on "Nasional," and 5-6 hours even on "Chusu's" shorter broadcasting time.
While during the early sixties Western music was forbidden as degenerate
and unpatriotic, the ban was lifted in December 1966 and it is now again
being broadcast extensively by RRI stations. However, all thr.ee stations
broadcast at le^ast double the amount of Indonesian traditional or Indonesian
modem music than of Western or other foreign music. Some musical programs
are designed for special listening groups, such as housewives or patients;
listeners' choice programs seem to be popular.

On Sundays all‘3 stations have longer religious programs, relaying

Roman Catholic and Protestant services and sermons; on weekdays "Ibu Kota"
and "Nasional" usually carry only the daily rather short Moslem prayer and
Aur'an reading program; "Chusus," however, broadcasts some longer Moslem
programs and also Catholic, Protestant and Hindu religious programs on
weekdays.
 -59-

Other programs include broadcasts for women, teenagers, children, pre­

school children, scouts, farmers; there is a quiz and a serial, and occasion­
ally a radio-play; talks on literature, health and science and a humorous
gossip program are regular weekly features; however, discussion or panel
programs and background news programs are very rare; "Chusus" carries ,a
daily political commentary by Ang Jatan Bersendjata, the chief military daily.
Only "Chusus" broadcasts regular English, French and German language lessons.
"Ibu Kota" broadcasts about 3 hours of this kind of non-news, non-musical
programs, "Nasional" about 2 hours and "Chusus" somewhat more than 2 hours.

What is; conspicuously absent in the RRI programs of Spring 1968 is

the political broadcast. No special radio speeches by Government leaders
or speeches relayed from a mass rally or from Parliament were broadcast.
Neither were any political party broadcasts. This is in marked difference
from the years of "Guided Democracy" when Sukarno’s speeches. Slogans and
campaigns used to preempt long hours of broadcasting time. The political
and military or paramilitary organizations closely allied wltK>‘Sukarno's
i
regime then also used both RRI (and Television) for lengthy propaganda
programs. RRI has' remained a Government-affiliated and controlled institution.
At least during the weeks of January and February 1968, the Soeharto regime
seemed to make little use of it for explicit political or economic communica­
tion with the masses.

However, from information gleaned in my interviews of Indonesians

it appears that at several critical junctures of the post-coup period, as
well as on the main national holidays, they remember having listened to
political, economic and military leaders broadcasting over RRI. Examples
mentioned were President Soeharto’s addresses to Parliament, and to the Nation
on Independence Day, Armed Forces Day, Heroes Day, and New Year’s Day; appear­
ances of several Cabinet Ministers,■and especially of General Nasution,
Sultan Hamengko Buweno, Foreign Minister Malik and later Minister of Foreign
Trade Sumitro. Among military figures the appearances of the Commander of
the Djakarta region and of the Paratrooper-General Edich were remembered.
A program of explanation by an Army spokesman on the anti-subversive
activities of Abri was mentioned, as well as the talk by the PSII (a mi.nor
 -60-

political party) on the general elections. In addition some interviews with

economic advisors and ambassadors were remembered.

Most informants remarked that the volume of speeches on RRI had

declined considerably since pre-Coup days. Many added that they prefer
watching Government and military personages making their speeches -on television,
where they are usually broadcast simultaneously with RRI.

The Emergence of Other Broadcasting Stations. While up to October

1965 the RRI had a monopoly of domestic broadcasting in Indonesia, things
have changed considerably since then. No official or other systematic
information is available; the following is information gathered from the daily
press and from Indonesian informants:

Amateur Broadcasting Stations: These made their appearance during

1966, and they continue to exist, though apparently now having considerably
less Importance than in 1966 and 1967. They sprouted up by the dozens in
the Djakarta area and in several other university towns, staffed without pay
by various organizations, groups of college students or even groups of high
school students and broadcast for only two or three hours a day. In the
beginning this was a spontaneous movement brought about mainly by th6 new
sense of freedom and Involvement of so many youngsters in the long-drawn out
process of dislodging Sukarno and establishing the "New Order." The authorities
did not interfere. 27 Later there came some attempts at regulation and the
amateur stations were required to register with the regional military command,
and decline followed. In 1968 there occurred at least one destructive raid by
the military authorities of Greater Djakarta on the politically most significant
broadcasting station, Kami (Students' Action Front), by the Djakarta military
commander, General Machmud, ostensibly because of Kami's criticism of the
President. Although at the time this raid aroused considerable criticism in
the press as being contrary to the rule of law, the man responsible for it has
in the meantime become Minister of the Interior.

27
According to the Djakarta editor there were about 360 amateur
transmitters in the Djakarta region, of these about 100 operated by students.
 -61-

There are still perhaps 5 or 6 amateur stations left in the Djakarta

area, whereas durihg their heyday the students broadcast news, political
comment, and debate with the press. By now the rule that news reporting is
-/

a monopoly of the RRI seems to be established. Since mid-1968 many non-RRI

stations tune in on the main official RRI "Sentral" news broadcasts and
annoimcements. Their programs of political comment and criticism have
declined hn'd tend to be rather on the light side. Their main programs now
seem to be Western popular music, often in the form of request programs
and many informants claim that* these programs are very popular. Some
informants mention listener support, some also some commercial support and
advertizing, before and after programs, in the case of some-amateur stations.
However, in the provincial college towns there seems to persist considerable
competition for RRI from the original type of amateur stations run by students
as well as by colleges and tmiversitles.

In West Irian, where conditions are of course unusual, three very

popular "amateur" stations compete seriously with RRI, two run by the regional
police and military command respectively, and the third by the local branch
of the national oil company.

In Djakarta there now exists a separate broadcasting station of the

Air Force in the main RRI building which is commercially supported and
broadcasts commercials regularly. According to one specialist Informant,
RRI authorities themselves are planning to introduce commercials to augment
their income. There also seem to be plans under way for the establishment
of a new private enterprise commercial station "Stanley" in Djakarta, to be
established by Mr. Diah, the former Minister of Information and the editor
of "Merdeka."

At least two Djakarta non-RRI stations, Suara Kebebasan and Elshlnt'a,

have gained enough stability to publish their broadcasting schedule in the
daily press.

Saura Khbebhsan (Voice- of Freedom) broadcasts 12 hours daily. It is

commercially supported and broadcasts one hour of commercials; about two to
three hours of music, including classical Western music; twice daily an
economic commentary; an" ambitious non-mufeical cultural program which Includes
 -62-

radio plays, a German-language broadcast and a lesson on the national geography.

It is difficult to tell at what specific group the programs are aimed as,
in addition to the economic slant, there is also a Moslem forum and an ABRI
broadcast.

Elshinta. although considered a more serious amateur station, apparently

broadcasts more than ten hours of music (presumably all light and all Western)
out of its daily 15 hours or more on the air; its typical residual programs
are physical exercises, a women's, a children's and a religious, program.

Number of Conventional Radio Receivers and the Advent of Transistor

Radios. The basis for my assumption of a recent significant rise in the number
of radio receivers in Indonesia lies in the first of the major changes in
the Indonesian radio scene since 1964 and especially the post-Coup era, namely
the proliferation of, transistor radios.

Transistor radios are of course extremely popular, especially among

the urban younger male population, all over the non-Communist Far East and
Southeast Asia. However, while the price of a small transistor radip is' within
the financial reach of the Japanese or Hong Kong industrial worker, and the
lower white collar worker, it is still a major expenditure in Indonesia at
least equivalent to a medium rank government official's monthly salary if=
the official tax or custom's duty is paid, l.e., if it is bought, locally
or Imported in the ordinary, legal method. Any transistor sold locally in a
store or imported from abroad by an individual is supposed to be registered,
just as traditional radio sets are, and its owner is expected to pay an annual
license fee.

From .the reports of my informants, however, it is obvious that a

considerable number of transistor radios are neither registered nor licensed.
Getting items through the customs for a small consideration to the customs
official is a long established practice. It has been estimated that half
the transistors imported by returning citizens enter without customs and
are not registered. There is a sizeable black market in transistor radios
in Djakarta. It is legal to buy untaxed transistor radios in West Irian;
transistors are bought there by all government officials and employees on
the installment, plan. On Riau the practice of buying untaxed transistors is
at least widespread, if not legal, and most of these transistors are subse­
quently brought to Java unregistered. Recipients of all these transistors most
likely will not pay license fees, consequently published figures of licensed-
receivers since 1966 will be considerably lower than the actual number of
radio receivers in use.

Transistors may have been significant in expanding the ranks of radio

owners and listeners in.urban areas among the mobile young, serving especially
the new listening public of the post—Coup, non-RRI broadcasting stations.
The price of a transistor, be it legal, semi-legal, or black market, is still
too high for most Indonesian farmers, who, in the non-electrlfied areas, remain
outside the listening public. However, transistor radios, being a favorite
gift item, young college graduates and other urbanized i^elatlves .returning
home for a visit have slightly increased the number of radios in the country­
side. Even President Soeharto is reported, when visiting his' farmer brother
in a Central Java village, to have brought him a transistor radio!

The Radio Audience. Our last figure for radio receivers in Indonesia
was 1,366,999 for the end of 1966, a rise of 177,502 from 1965, the Increase
being somewhat bigger than the annual increase of previous years (see table 4,
page 64)^ These are supposedly only the licensed receivers. If we assume
similar Inpreases in licensed receivers during 1967 and 1968 there should
by now be about 1,723,000 licensed receivers. Assuming that there were a
considerable number of unlicensed receivers in Indonesia before the end of
1966, and that the numbers of unlicensed transistor radios have increased
rapidly in the last two years, we may assume that Indonesia could have by
now about two million radio receivers of all kinds.

The two million radio owners are mainly middle-class urban families.
Crawford in his 1967 thesis assumed that radios were usually found only in the
homes of the relatively affluent. My labor union informant reported in 1968
that the ordinary factory worker who cannot afford a dally newspaper tends to
 -64-

Table 4

Number of Wireless' and Wired Radio Receivers in Indonesia

1938-1966

Wireless Wired
Source Year Receivers Receivers Total 1000 Inhabitants

Petundjuk
Pers 1961 1938 70,984 70,984
1939 86,421 86,424
-
1940 100,363 100,363
-
1941 108,500 108,500
-

1951 213,038 213,038 3 (2.7)

1952 294,668 294,668 4 (3.7)
-
1953 376,292 376,292 5 (4.7)
-
1954 452,560 452,560 ''5. 5 (5.5)
-
1955 493,051 493,051 6 (6.0)
-
1956 536,280 3,806 540,086 6 (6.4)
1957 592,832 7,535 600,367 7 (6.9)
1958 630,827 8,900 639,727 7 (7.2)
1959 670,374 6,929 677,303 7 (7.4)
1960 708,739 8,606 717,345 8 (7.7)
1961 773,950 9,334 783,284 8 (8.2)
Petundjuk
Pers 1962 1962 875,936 9,256 885,192 9 (8.9)
Petundjuk
Pers 1963 1963 960,502 6,336 996,839 9. 5 (9.5)
RRI's claim
quoted in
UNESCO Sur- 1964 1,500,000
vey Mission
Statistik 1964 1,072,645
Kommunikasi 1965 1,189,497
1956-1966 1966 1,366,999 appr. 12.3
Biro Pusat
Statistik 1967
Djakarta
 -65-

own a radio set and to pay his license fee. Certainly the urban middle and
lower white-collar household seems by now to own a radio.

For 1962 Crawford reports less than 150,000 sets in Djakarta, which
would put between 1/5 and 1/6 of all radios in the Capital.

The educated middle class in small towns who often live in rather
isolated locations, have long owned radios; indeed they are. their main contact
with the big world. However, the great mass of the rural agricultural
population, literate and illiterate alike, who could be reached by the medium
of radio, still is overwhelmingly without radios. The only "sharing" would
be the village elite listening to the district or subdistrict official’s
28
radio (if he has one) on his porch.

How large is the listening public? The average numbers of persons per
Indonesian household was 4.4 in 1961, the urban household being bigger (4.^)
than the rural (4.3). As most radios are owned by urban households, I shall
assume that the average radio is listened to by 5 persons, which gives us
a listening public of 10 million in 1969, assuming the high estimate of 2

million receivers.

Public Radios and Wired Speakers. Radio listening in Indonesia, is

nowadays nearly exclusively a private home activity. Under the Dutch no
public .radios or wired .speakers existed. However, this medium was introduced
on a grand scale by the Japanese occupation authorities. They put up public
Ipudspeakers in public squares, on the crossroads, wherever people gathered,
not only in cities and towns, but even in the larger villages all over the
archipelago. Only one of my informants, living during these years on a
small island off Ambon, did not experience Japanese sponsored public radio.-
How many there were we do not know as there are no radio statistics from.1941

^^An Illustration of this point is the story of the Duta Masjarakat

reporter who traveled with Subandrio and Njoto’s party in North Sumatra. On
the fateful October 1, the party was in Langsa, the seat of a Regency, or
Second Order Region, being served by both a highway and a railway line.
The party was Very keen to hear about developments in Djakarta, but only one
transistor radio was available. The Bupati, or Regency Chief of Langsa,- -did
not own a transistor radio. (Source: Duta Masjarakat, October 7, 1965).
 - 66 -

to 1951. The loudspeakers used to blare continuously—and naturally were

used extensively for official information, propaganda and indoctrination.

It is not clear what happened to the extensive public network set up

by the Japanese. One informant reports the use of public loudspeakers by
the newly established RRI during the Revolutionary Period in Jogja. However,
during the Liberal Period it .seems that no use was made’ of public radio.

During "Guided Democracy" there seems to have been an attempt made by

Sukarno to reestablish a network of public radios in cities, towns apd
larger villages to be operated by the district authorities or village headmen.
On the official lists of radio receivers there appeared in 1956 3,S06
"wired receivers" and their number rose until 1962 to 9,256, falling in 1963
to 6,336 and then disappearing from later lists.

These radios were supposed to be turned on for newscasts and especially

for the President's frequent and lengthy speeches, but the practice of local
officials seems to have varied. Some officials did not even turn the radios
on for the news, and considerable parts of the rural population were not
reached. Although a large part of the population listened to Sukarno's
major speeches, Sukarno never obtained such complete a coverage of Indonesian
territory as the Japanese authorities. The effectiveness of the system was
already declining during the last years of his regime simply -through deteriora­
tion of the equipment and mechanical failure. In the tropics, radio equipment
deteriorates fast and becomes useless if not maintained regularly.

Since the Coup, the New Order regime has made no effort to reestablish
a network of public loudspeakers or radios. However, the Army owns a number
of mobile loudspeakers and moves them to the main public places for such
special occasions as the President's address on Independence Day. I have no
information as to what part of the rural population benefits from this

arrangement.

There are even very few radios in such places as offices or coffeestalls;
in 1964 there were no radios in schools in spite of the existence of radio
programs "for schools." Djakarta stations had in 1968 no school programs;
however RRI Jogjakarta has a regular one. The Labor Union informant mentions
that some factories own a radio and turn it on during the workers' break time.
 )

-67-

All in all, the few radios which are used for public listening do not
add significantly to the listening public.

Television

The Technical and Political History of Television

Television broadcasting began in Indonesia in 1962, when it was estab­

lished in Djakarta on the occasion of the Aslan Games. In 1964, according
to information gathered by Crawford (p. 291), "programming on the Djakarta
television station was only two hours each evening, plus extended coverage of
mass rallies, presidential speeches, or other special events. About half of
■L total content was live
the . speeches, or other events of a po>litlcal nature, 29
and the other half was mostly documentary films. Commercial messages were
limited to poster cards or slides displayed for ten seconds each with no
verbal sales talk. Some time after the start of television in Djakarta,
television broadcasting was extended to three additional cities: Bandung,
Jogjakarta and Semarang, from which centers the signals cover such smaller
cities as Solo and Madlun in Central Java.

Television became a special section of RRI and, like it, a government

controlled medium. The owners of television sets pay a licensing tax which
goes directly to RRI/TV. Additional income is provided by a government subsidy
of only five to .ten percent, and revenue from advertising* Crawford reports
in 1967 that RRI/TV had officially operated without any deficit since its
inception.

By 1968 RRI/tV Djakarta broadcast four hours each evening, from six
to ten.

See, for Instance, Harry J. Benda and Louis Charles Damais, Indonesia,
Vol. I, April 1967, p. 221: "He winced as we watched uniformed Gerwani
(Communist Women's Organisation) women go through "political calisthenics" on
TV in Bandung."
 -68 -

The Television Audience. Statistical information about the number of

television sets in Indonesia is scanty. Duta Masjarakat (August 24, 1966.)
reported 48.000 receivers in Greater Djakarta. Crawford reports approximately
40,000 sets in Bandung and more than 100,000 in all of Indonesia by early 1967.
This figure may have risen somewhat since then, but certainly not dramatically.
The price of a television set, including the large import tax, still puts it
out of reach for the great majority of the population.

Television viewing is confined to the urban upper middle class and

upper class in Djakarta and a limited area of Central and Eastern Java.
Television being dependent on electricity, even the residents of non-
electrified villages within the reception areas of the four television trans-
™itbers must be eliminated from the potential viewing public.

How large is the viewing public? Assuming a maximum of 150,000 sets

and an average size of urban households of five persons, we arrive at a viewing
fjublic of 750,000 persons. According to those interviewed this viewing public
is still in the stage of television addiction. Television sets are placed'
in the rriain family living area and remain on for the entire four hours of ‘
broadcasting.
■t

While there is little sharing of daily newspapers and of radio listening

between Individual households, there definitely is sharing of the still very
rare treat of watching television. Neighbors are invited in "to view
Important events such as appearances of government leaders, panel discussions
on a burning political or economic topic, or some special occasion such as a
state visit of a foreign dignitary or an exciting sports event. So we might
assume that in addition to the regular viewing public of 750,000, there might
be an occasional viewing public of another 250,000 people. Presumably about
1,000,000 Indonesians use television as an information medium. Most of the
occasional viewers would not be invited to view the news regularly and as
there is no public television in Indonesia, the only access to viewing is
in private homes. Indonesian television is definitely still not a mass medium
but is becoming an increasingly important medium for the more prosperous
urban middle class.