Alternative Medicine

June 13th, 2007, in News, by Patung

Banning mystical and alternative medicine on television.

Four television stations in Bandung, West Java have been reprimanded by the Broadcasting Commission, Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia (KPI) for screening talkshows which discuss the use of alternative medicine. The KPI considers that the discussion of alternative medicine on the programs verges towards the approval of mystical or magical beliefs.

Representatives of the four stations, they being TVRI West Java & Banten, PJTV, STV, and Bandung TV, were called into the KPI offices in Bandung and given a verbal warning over the content of the alternative medicine shows early this month.

Dadang Rahmat Hidayat of the KPI says “mystical medicine” can be included among the four topics which television stations are required not to delve into, they being horror, sex, pornography, and violence. Specifically, talk of alternative medicine violates Article 10 of the Broadcasting Code, which requires television content of a “mysterious” nature to be based on empirically proven facts.

Dadang worries about the effect of such programs on people:

People [who watch] could be encouraged to practise these magical [medical] techniques. Their influence has to be eliminated.

Such supernatural medical programs cunningly clothe themselves in religious garb, he said: [1]

Although they use religious symbols these programs have already been judged to violate the norms of religion.

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Tags: Bandung, Media, Television

6 Comments on “Alternative Medicine”

Ihaknt Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Halah kabeh kok dilarang. Are we really that stupid and incapable of self-filtering information that many subjects are made taboo to show and discussed? Are we really that stupid to have things sorted/censored for us prior to viewing?? Gee, no wonder many are narrow minded.
Dimp Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Hi ihaknt,

Are we really that stupid and incapable of self-filtering information that many subjects are made taboo to show and discussed? Are we really that stupid to have things sorted/censored for us prior to viewing??

Yes.
Tomaculum Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
I’ve seen in an Indonesian TV-Programme about a cleric (wearing a typical dress) “healing” a so called obsessed woman with the “power” of the holy words of his religion.
Is this also an alternative medicine? Or mystical? Also forbidden?
I would wonder!!
Ihaknt Says:
June 18th, 2007 at 6:23 am
It’s probably a set up.
Janma Says:
June 20th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Do you think those ghost buster guys on tv in Indonesia really get rid of ghosts? my husband is an educated Indonesian, not stupid, but he is ngotot that they really put those ghosts in jars!
Is it real?
Dimp Says:
June 20th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Hi Janma,

Some things cannot be explained with logic, whether or not these things are real or not depend on the person itself. If you believe that there is such thing as supernatural then maybe it does exist, I myself am a sceptic, but as I said before some things cannot be explained…. the truth is out there, Scully.