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 Malaysias,
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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