Summary of Dissertation

Press Freedom towards Malaysia-Indonesia Relationship:

Study of News Report in Berita Harian and Kompas

Fitaha Aini

Since the start of the Reformation era in Indonesia in 1998, Indonesian media had been

more open to reporting and publishing sensational news regarding Malaysia-Indonesia issues.

Published news has gained strong reactions from various groups of people from both nations.

This holistic study is not only investigating news, but also discussing the external factors that

influence news production. This study examines theories of the press, such as Authoritarian,

Libertarian, and Social Responsibility.

Methodologies that had been utilized in this study include quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative approaches were employed to quantify news frequency, type of reporting, type of

conveyed messages and framing. Qualitative methods were conducted using interview sessions

and news content analysis based on framing proposed by Robert N. Entman. Findings suggest

that Indonesia is more liberating press compared to Malaysia’s, based on three main

parameters proposed by Freedom House in assessing the practice of press freedom in a state.

These parameters are legal, politics, and economy.

In terms of study of press freedom in the context of Indonesia and Malaysia relation

which evaluated by a news report in Berita Harian (Malaysia) and Kompas (Indonesia), it was

found that Kompas has more freedom to publish news about bilateral issues. This freedom

refers to the human right to know and understand common issues and express his thought and

opinion without limit. Chronology of historical episode can influence the system of the press.

These differences of history lead to various in ideology, press system, and policy that ultimately

resulted in differences in legal, political and economic conditions that are adopted by the

community in each country. Press in Malaysia, Berita Harian, was born as an oasis for Malays at

the beginning of an independent era. Similarly, Kompas, the longest-serving newspaper in

Indonesia, appeared to fight for Indonesian justice by dissemination of information.

The research found that newspaper in Malaysia has his agenda to support ideology and

policy of development. This press system has formed by rejecting Western values that are not

compatible with the needs of developing societies. In addition, the harmonious relationship

between the government and the press is considered as co-partner to the public interest. In

terms of political, economic aspect, most of the mainstream media are owned by ruling party,

Barisan Nasional, or someone who has relation to this party. This monopoly has worried people

because it can affect the freedom of expression and freedom of the media. People are

concerned that if their voice and aspirations are failed to be heard by the government.

This condition illustrates that press in Malaysia is similar to the theory that the primary

goal is to implement government policy and provide excellent services to the citizen. This

theory also asserts that the people who can publish media need to get license and approval by

the government. This concept is reinforced by the statement of some scholars who say that the

role of communications media as a tool of social control is not working properly because it is

controlled by at least three strict laws such as Media Print and Publications Act 1984, Copyright

Act 1987, the Sedition Act and the Official Secrets Act and the ownership of the media by

political ruling party.

On the other hand, the press in Indonesia is not controlled by the government. Code of

ethics, public opinion, and their actions are the power to control the press in Indonesia.

Moreover, the law does not restrict the freedom of the press. Thus, this law protects the

independence of the press. Jacob Oetama as the founder and owner of Kompas provides a

distinctive pattern in the formation of policy and operational work of journalists. He also

believes that the press must be brave to be a public intelligence to monitor the governments'

performances.

According to the one study that was conducted by a Germany scholar, there is not

unclearly seen that Kompas owner will use his press for the sake of his own. It is because the

newspaper owner is a journalist who led his company to a journalistic perspective. He has no

political interest. He admitted that the Kompas can handle the economic pressure that comes

from their ads client by separate the advertising department and news department. This policy

is made by the firm in order to carry out the news coverage on the willingness of journalists.

This situation is close to the Social Responsibility Theory which states that public opinion, the

actions of users and professional ethics are powers to control the press. While the primary goal

of the press in Indonesia resembles the liberal theory that monitoring government is the

essential purpose.

In the context of news reporting on Malaysia-Indonesia related issues, it was found that

Kompas was more frequent in publishing news on these mentioned issues. However, Berita

Harian was consistent in casting news that could lead to efforts for the sake of integration.

Though, most of the news reported in Berita Harian and Kompas were neutral. The type of

reporting that produced by both companies was news. Kompas had the advantage in

accommodating critical views from the audience and readers regarding Malaysia-Indonesia

issues, especially Ambalat, Siti Hajar, and Pendet issues. Therefore, Kompas were more likely to

make use of editorial format, reader correspondences, column and interview sections.

Framing on Ambalat issue were mostly ethics-politics (Berita Harian) and politics

(Kompas). For Siti Hajar issue, both Berita Harian and Kompas frequently used ethics framing.

Kompas reviewed and categorized the Pendet issue as a cultural topic while Berita Harian

observed it as ethical concerns. Based on news publishing, Kompas was believed to be more

encouraged in criticizing the government and reminding readers of positive issues. Thus,

findings showed that Kompas practices more press freedom than Berita Harian. In the efforts to

maintain harmony in bilateral and diplomatic relation, thus, Malaysian and Indonesian

governments need to take more proactive actions in supporting press freedom which stands on

strict legal, stable political climate, and progressive economy.

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