Let’s face it: politics are boring. Writing about politics is even more boring. Except perhaps for topics about illegal political scheming, sex scandals in which state ministers are caught in the act, about officials who are exposed for large scale embezzlement of taxpayer’s money, about crime fighters who stand trial for murder or by stories about top administrators who get to deal with heartbreaking family drama. Only these modern equivalents of the Shakespearean kings, from Edward III to Richard III, draw attention of the average citizen. Maybe, just maybe, it is by the threat of impeachment SBY also has gained the dramatic qualities which justify – and explain- a lot of feverish media coverage.
Or is it the other way around and did the media turn a set of relative dull non-issues into drama?
Anyhow SBY’s second term had a tough and stormy start. After all this negative publicity his popularity is probably at an all time low. His presidency and his government seem to limp from incident to scandal. The accumulation of problems his team has met so far made the headlines on a daily basis. The reports and comments were extensively published in papers and shown on TV. And now the general public mood, especially amongst the upper middle classes and opinion leaders – in the media and in the Indonesian blogosphere – has turned sour and even cynical. The man who half a year ago was the personification of high hopes, is now presiding over an administration at the verge of collapse. Or so it seems.
However the media did their job of reporting and revealing well, didn’t they? They found dirt and they published about it.
Isn’t this proof of the success of Indonesia’s free press?.
Doesn’t it show these professional journalists are a blessing to democracy?
Can’t Indonesia be proud of this show of journalistic maturity?
And don’t civilians benefit from their critical and investigative approach?
Answering last question we have to keep in mind that the quintessence of course is whether these media were and are independent in their reporting.
So are they?
I quote: Metro TV, one of the biggest in Indonesia, is owned by Golkar member Surya Paloh, while TV One is owned by Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie. The owner of Trans TV and Trans 7 owns Bank Mega, which also makes him a part in the play around president Yudhoyono. Furthermore some newspapers and magazines in the country are also owned by political heavyweights.
When you can smell power, greed, revenge, betrayal, intrigues, and plotting, you can be sure drama is in the making. A lot of it may still be in the shadow, but it isn’t Wayang. No, chances are the evil forces may win this time. I think the ingredients are all there; we are watching the first act of a Shakespearean King’s drama.
Interesting isn’t it? And dangerous.
