What apparently matters is the article of faith that Gus Dur's fall from power is imminent because of the country's intractable problems he has failed to solve, election pledges he was unable to deliver and the thickening political intrigue by his opponents to overthrow him. Therefore, the media tends to highlight the President's mistakes, magnify the significance of political intrigues against him, exaggerate the threats to his position, downplay his achievements and ignore his replies to his accusers. One recent accusation against the President is that he is interfering with the media. This is a bad joke. The fact that the media, including the press, has been able to continue attacking the President with impunity tends to contradict the media's own claim that freedom of expression is being shackled.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
I am the victim of the media. The local media make libellous accusations against me. These lies are often picked up and reported in the international press and subsequently quoted back in the local press. When the lies are picked up and reported in the international media they become magnified. Most of the urban TV channels are owned by Suharto's daughter Tutut and other Suharto cronies.