By: Abdul Razak)*
Several articles in the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) are considered controversial because they are predicted to prohibit press freedom, because there is a prohibition against insulting the president and vice president. This prediction is wrong because the press is still free to make news, what is prohibited is insults, not criticism.
Journalists carry out their duties to write news and broadcast it to the public. A journalist aka journalist covers the event and then writes about it in newspapers or online media. Their position is highly respected by the community because they become the mouthpiece of the latest news in Indonesia and in the world. They covered a lot of news, including the inauguration of the RKUHP into the Criminal Code (Book of the Criminal Law).
The public also listened carefully to several articles in the RKUHP. Moreover, there are many articles that overhaul the law which is more than 100 years old. Meanwhile, there are journalists who feel afraid because there are articles that are considered to prohibit press freedom. Even though nothing is prohibited, it’s just that it is regulated to make it better and in accordance with Indonesian norms.
Politician Yasonna Laoly stated that the government did not prohibit press freedom in Indonesia. But the freedom given does not mean unlimited, because if it is too liberal it will become anarchist. For example in the RKUHP section on the article contempt of court, which prohibits the publication of court results in private, because it can affect the independence of the court.
Yasonna continued, if there are publications even though it is clear that the trial is closed, then it is the same as writing news from sources. Even though it was clear that the interview was off the record. If a journalist is desperate to write it down, it is the same as not maintaining his own credibility.
In a sense, this is tantamount to violating the journalistic code of ethics, because it does not respect the sources and the court. The acts of journalists like this will be regulated by the RKUHP, in order to maintain the quality of the news and prevent practices that violate the rules and norms. Therefore, it is hoped that the press will not get emotional first because the Articles in the RKUHP must be understood first.
Yasonna continued, the press is protected by the Press Law. In a sense, it is impossible for the RKUHP to prohibit press freedom and contradict other laws. It is hoped that journalists will be patient and not reject the RKUHP outright, because it is still in the status of a bill and has not been ratified by the government.
Other articles in the RKUHP that are considered to prohibit press freedom are Article 218 which prohibits insulting the president and vice president. The contents of this article should not be used as an attack on the government, which is considered to prohibit the work of journalists who like to criticize. They need to distinguish between criticism and insults.
In a democracy, criticism of the government is permissible. However, over time the coverage of the government changed drastically, from constructive criticism to destructive criticism and ended in insults. This insult is prohibited, and apart from violating state law, it also violates societal norms and religious law.
Strong criticism that led to insults occurred after the gates of reform were opened. Since 1998, people have experienced freedom of expression, including freedom of the press. If in the past journalists were afraid to criticize the government because their media could be banned (forcibly closed), now they are allowed to criticize. They are no longer afraid of Peter’s threats and attacks.
But unfortunately the criticism in the mass media and electronics on average is even blasphemous. Even the words of President Jokowi or Vice President K.H. Ma’ruf Amin can also be ‘fried’ or distorted, so that it can create a stir in the community. There are also electronic media that cut the video containing the president’s speech but because it is only a cut, it cannot show the true meaning of the speech.
The articles in the RKUHP also stipulate that there is no madness in electronic media, because currently the average news only contains a short narrative but the title is click bait, aka there is no relationship between the title and the content of the news. This method can indeed increase visits to the media site. However, it can cloud the atmosphere and make people join in blaspheming the government, even though that is not the intention.
The behaviors of individual journalists who cut videos, edit videos and reverse the actual facts, insult the president, and write click bait news are regulated in the RKUHP. They cannot repeat their bad deeds because they are afraid that they will be grabbed by the security forces and threatened with imprisonment as a deterrent effect. In fact, the RKUHP is here to rid the press of naughty people like this.
The government made the RKUHP so that there would be a revision of the Criminal Code so that criminal law in Indonesia is regulated and adapted to the times, because the legal roots of the Criminal Code are Dutch inherited laws. The RKUHP was created to regulate the public as well as the press. This bill has never