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Back to Home Page Features October 01, 2000
Indonesian political talkshows get hotter
By Agni Amorita
JAKARTA (JP): In a country like Indonesia where the credo "silence is
gold" is still prevalent, with Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri
as its faithful follower, having an open, spontaneous and dynamic talk
show used to be a rare luxury. People talked behind your back instead
of discussing the real problems comprehensively. There was even a
cynical expression debat kusir (debate of the coachmen) directed
towards those who embarked on heated discussion. In a still
feudalistic society, horsecart drivers are considered uneducated
people who debate without any supporting arguments. For about three
decades, people have been deprived of their freedom of speech in
almost all public mediums. Including local television.
The only talkshow allowed to be shown was in the form of a boring
guided conversation which was very predictable and mostly silly. That
was why people reacted positively when Ishadi SK, who was then
chairman of state television TVRI Yogyakarta, introduced his
spontaneous and modern teen talkshow Tanah Merdeka (Land of Liberty)
in the 1980s. Due to the huge support from its viewers, Tanah Merdeka
was soon being aired nationally from Yogyakarta. But Ishadi was left
alone because nobody else had dared to create such an impressive and
smart program. In 1994 Wimar Witoelar came out with his phenomenal
program Perspektif (The Perspective), on SCTV.
It was in December 1993 when Wimar Witoelar, known as the President
Director of management consulting company PT Intermatrix, talked to
Djoko B. Soemantri, one of SCTV's principals. He said SCTV would be
seen as an Indonesian CNN if it had its own Larry King Live. "And who
will be its host?" Djoko asked. Wimar volunteered himself. "Half
joking and half dreaming," Wimar recalled that moment in his book
Perspektif Bersama Wimar Witoelar (Yayasan Obor Indonesia, 1995). Then
the dream came true. The show was a big hit because it introduced a
new approach to Indonesian audiences; it was friendly, spontaneous,
smart and never treated the viewers as if they were too uneducated to
receive such a comprehensive show. Interview transcripts from the show
were printed in newspapers and later in the book mentioned previously
and an audio version was also broadcasted on various radio stations.
From the very beginning, Wimar has been receiving letters of support
from his viewers. His appreciation towards the viewers and their
letters is another cause for his success. People would always remember
the moment in one of Perspektif's early episodes when Wimar Witoelar
sat at his modest desk, without his famous tailored suit. Before
starting the show he said to the viewers, "Thanks for your letters,
and now I am doing one of those things that was suggested. I will no
longer be wearing a suit in order to get closer to the viewers and
establish a more friendly situation."
With a variety of guests, from now Coordinating Minister of Economics
Rizal Ramli to feminist Julia Suryakusuma, Wimar gave his audience a
very important new perspective. And the result was amazing. Wimar --
thanks to that letter -- is now more often seen in his checkered shirt
and almost never wears his forgotten tailored suit. And he has gained
a loyal audience. They followed his talkshow when it was banned by the
Soeharto regime and had to be changed to an audio program. Then Wimar
launched numerous live shows in separate places all over the
archipelago. Perspektif was given a new name, Perspektif Baru (A New
Perspective), and was then aired by Indosiar for two years, having
just ended recently.
"The reception was quite good," explained Gufroni Sakaril, Public
Relations Manager of Indosiar. "Of course the talkshow has less
viewers than the family programs such as the local soap operas but the
show is very segmented and has potential, so it is not difficult to
get ads," he added.
Following the success, Indosiar decided to broaden its political
talkshow program with three other weekly programs namely Saksi
(Witness), Gardu (Post) with Yogyakarta's artist Emha Ainun Nadjib as
its host and Dinamika (Dynamics) which discusses newspaper headlines,
hosted by a young scholar from the Bandung Institute of Technology,
Fajrul Rochmad.
"Since the reform era, there is a high demand for political
talkshows," explained Gufroni, whose station also airs infotainment
talkshows such as Talk Life and Kiss.
The same opinion is stated by Budi Dharmawan, PR Manager of SCTV whose
station is famous for its frequent unscheduled talkshows. "The
political turmoil lately has led some Indonesian viewers to show more
concern about our social political issues," Budi said. "We used to
believe that talkshows had a limited audience because public debate is
not a familiar thing here." To attract the viewers, SCTV also produces
fully entertaining talkshows such as Dunia Bintang (The World of
Stars) and Ngobras (Ngobrol Bareng Indra Safera- Chatting With Indra
Safera).
ANTeve also has more serious talkshows hosted by Ekky Syachrudin for
the weekly program and a monthly version hosted by former minister
Fahmy Idris. The latest is Siasat (Tactics) by Hermawan Kertajaya.
Discussing economics with various Indonesian business personalities,
Hermawan successfully combines the art of talkshow with lessons in
management. It has to be admitted that Siasat is one of the best
interactive talkshows around. Unfortunately, its promotion and the
program's packaging is still in a poor condition.
RCTI as the first state-owned TV station still airs its Aneka Dialog
(Various Dialogs) talkshow every Monday evening. TPI can not be
ignored because it has the Jaya Suprana Show, which has conducted
exclusive interviews with the palace members. Jaya has appeared five
times with the first family as its guests since the day President
Wahid was elected. TPI also has its reform-spirited talkshows: Pro &
Contra hosted by Tiurmaida Tampubolon and Partai-Partai (The Parties)
with Harris Jauhari.
With so many hard topics on serious talkshows, some shows seems to
have gone in another direction. Last month, TPI introduced Midnight
Affair, a talkshow about love lives with a paranormal as host. RCTI
also launched Angin Malam (The Night Breeze) which airs every Saturday
night.
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