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Indonesia : development and the 'open skies policy'

Indonesia is home to 183 million people scattered through about 13 thousand
islands. There are at least 583 dialects and also various religions and ethic
groups exist in the country. Thus, the issue of unification is significant in
Indonesia. To date, the state's ideology, Pancasila, has been considered as an
effective device to bring the nation together. Pancasila is also used as a platform
for Indonesia's developmental policy making. Media in Indonesia have long been
seen as a means to support the development process.
Indonesia has just completed its first Long Term Development Plan (1969 to
1994). The first Long Term Development Plan emphasized Indonesia's
economy. Under the New Order administration, Indonesia has achieved both
political stability and a continuing economic growth. Lately, there are some
significant changes in the field of broadcasting infrastructure.
On July 24th, 1990, the government issued the Decree of the Minister of
Information (no. 111/Kep/Menpen/1990) which is unofficially known as the 'Open
Skies Policy'. This policy allows the private sector to run private television
stations and also gives permission to the public to own satellite dishes.
The 'Open Skies Policy' can be seen as a breakthrough in Indonesian media
infrastructure because from 1962 to 1989, Indonesia had only one, state owned,
television station-TVRI. Now, there are five private stations and numerous
foreign television stations beamed through at least 400 thousand satellite dishes
in the country. The number of telephones, however, has not yet exceeded 1.7
million.
This thesis recognizes that the 'Open Skies Policy' deserves thorough analysis
because it reflects a series of significant changes in the Indonesian governments
development strategies. This thesis sets itself the following objectives: to
overview major development communication paradigms and to consider which
development paradigm works most effectively in the Indonesian context; to
explain how 'development' has been conceptualized in Indonesia and how this
has manifested in media policy; to analyse the implications of the 'Open Skies
Policy' and to consider whether it represents a new direction in Indonesia's
developmental policy making.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219271
Date January 1995
CreatorsPulun, Putri Prima, n/a
PublisherUniversity of Canberra. Comm'
Source SetsAustraliasian Digital Theses Program
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Rights), Copyright Putri Prima Pulun

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