Social Integration, Nation-Building and Communications Policy in Indonesia

Abstract

The government of Indonesia has endeavoured to achieve social integration and nation-building. With a view to realizing its national ideal and goal, "Unity in Diversity", the Suharto administration has designed the 5-year development plans (1st-6th), including communication plans, and has implemented them since 1969. As an element of the 2nd development plan, the Palapa satellite A1 was launched in 1976, A2 in 1977 and B1 in 1983. The launching of the Palapa A1-2 has mostly completed the Domestic Satellite Communication System (SKSD). This system has an impact on many aspects of communications, especially on TV broadcasting. An increase in the number of TV sets, however, is observed only in cities. In rural areas most of the people do not possess a TV set. In this situation, the Department of Information plans to set up "public TV", for example in assembly rooms in rural areas, giving more people the opportunity to watch TV. In this context, one of the significant findings on TV viewing is that, in both cities and rural areas, many people are interested in news, documentaries and information programs as well as in entertainment programs. The importance of TV viewing lies in the fact that its audience, more or less, becomes aware of other ethnic groups and their cultures. This awareness will lead to the understanding of Indonesia as a nation with diverse cultures, which will eventually contribute to achieving social integration and nation-building in Indonesia. The "Unity in Diversity" of Indonesia might be affected by the uniformity possibly resulting from the SKSD. Based on a comprehensive understanding of the SKSD, we should further our studies on the social integration and nation-building of Indonesia, which is an antithesis to the concept of the nation-state in the modernization theory of the West.