JAKARTA: If the Indonesian media continues to criticise the government then government institutions will no longer advertise in those media outlets, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam says.
He said he would instruct the secretary-generals and communications offices of all government institutions not to advertise in those media outlets. Government information would also not be provided to those outlets, he said.
“There's no need to place [advertisements] if [the media] continue to besmirch [the government],” he said. “And officials being interviewed for prime time [television shows] don't need to go.”
He said repeated showings of violence on news shows negatively impacted the government.
“This causes investors to run away. It's as if Indonesia is in chaos… that Indonesia is gloomy,” he said, as reported by kompas.com.
He said the government was not averse to criticism but that the criticism must be the healthy kind and balanced in order to avoid misleading the public. - The Jakarta Post/Pacific Media Watch
Pacific Media Watch
