From My Point of View

SOMETIME , as a nation, we have to learn from other nation’s experience. Quite often, we perceive learning from others will only denigrate our credibility as a proud and independent nation. (I think, that attitude comes from different sources; maybe some of us believe it’s a sign of weakness to be humble and admit that others have experience that might be valuable for us. It is mere chauvinism and of course self-important feeling has no place in our world today. But, we can also speculate that that kind of feeling comes from a deeper layer of consciousness: a feeling that was built after hundred years of colonialism-- that is: its always better not to believe in foreigners.) But, learning from India, of course, is a different case. Indians are hardly considered as foreigners for this archipelago. They had come to the shores of Sumatra and Java islands even before the European arrived-- through trade and spiritual journeys. Dont forget, India was the one who introduced Hinduism to the p...

SEJUMLAH wartawan yang bekerja di beberapa media terkemuka di Jakarta –baik cetak maupun elektronik—belakangan sedang gelisah tak karuan. Pasalnya sederhana, semakin hari semakin jelas ada indikasi kuat kalau pemilik media tempat mereka bekerja, mulai memanfaatkan medianya untuk kepentingan bisnis komersial dan pribadinya. Simak kisah seorang wartawan Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia –sebut saja namanya Andi--. Saat heboh soal kasus NCD bodong PT Citra Marga Nusantara Persada menimpa pemilik stasiun teve RCTI, Harry Tanoe-- dia menyaksikan sendiri bagaimana manajemen RCTI menyiapkan program khusus untuk meng-counter apa yang mereka yakini sebagai ‘black campaign’ atas boss mereka. Program talkshow itu ditayangkan akhir Februari lalu. “Programnya didesain satu arah untuk membela Harry Tanoe, pembicaranya dipilih yang pro Harry Tanoe, dan program itu menggunakan blocking time . Tidak ada iklan sama sekali,” kata Andi. Andi memang tak bisa berbuat apa-apa menyaksikan tingkah atasannya y...