16 Comments on “Debt Collection, RCTI Reality TV Style”

1. joao Says:
   June 4th, 2009 at 2:12 am

   Now clearly this whole escapade had been orchestrated. If RCTI knew of her plight before, and how else would said cutie have shown up in the nick of time, why did they choose to let the goons fill this poor lady’s heart with dread?

   You know the answer already. Here’s the math: More tears+more drama = better ratings. No drama/ tears= low ratings. More ratings= more bucks. Problem solved. It’s precisely the kind of exploitative mentality which makes this country ‘great’.

2. madrotter Says:
   June 4th, 2009 at 3:25 am

   i’m not surprised by anything on tv anymore (although i fully agree with you on this one ross) i’m thinking back to the death of that poor dangdutsinger alda and how they put her on tv, or the time when that comedian died in a car accident and they went quickly to his house to film his wife when she got the telephonecall and they kept filming and filming while this poor woman broke down and went hysterical. they came to her house acting like they had an interview with her husband knowing full well what happened… or these horrible police programs where you can see people beaten up horribly being forced to crawl on their knees for stealing a chicken… or how about that reality show where this girl comes home, the whole family taken hostage somebody on the floor knifed and bleeding to death and then when she completely breaks down they inform her that it’s all a joke…

   anybody who saw the famous empat mata show where first that canibal was interviewed and then this harelipped jakartan homeless girl ate these huge live frogs alive and big raw fish? that was pretty entertaining!

3. Astrajingga Says:
   June 4th, 2009 at 12:51 pm

   Anyone care to write to KPI, or at least to reader’s letter in national newspaper?

4. David Says:
   June 4th, 2009 at 1:28 pm

   There’s a synopsis of that episode here, says the woman’s kid was treated for dengue fever, doesn’t say what hospital though.

5. Brother Mouzone Says:
   June 4th, 2009 at 3:54 pm

   @ Joao

   It’s precisely the kind of exploitative mentality which makes this country ‘great’.

   Reality TV is exploitative everywhere, not just here in Indonesia. Whether it’s poking fun at fat people on The Biggest Loser, laughing at mentally ill people on American Idol/The X Factor, or the particularly horrible example from Indonesian TV that Ross has described here. It’s a load of rubbish, barely removed from the Victorian freak shows it is based on.

   It’s also rarely “real”.

6. a-matter-of-fact Says:
   June 5th, 2009 at 1:24 am

   This is to mean that the Indonesian police are doing nothing and I am pretty sure some of them or army personnel could be involve.

   If the police cannot handle such a situation then they might as well scrap whatever your pancasila law.

   As far as credit are concern, it is either they are collaterals or non collateral credit. If it is collateral then the banks could go ahead and proceed to get the person sue or place a lien on the property and g on with the law.

   Otherwise when it is non collateral credit the bank cannotouch them therefore they are using force retrievals.

   ONE THING I CAN SAY IS THAT:

   The person can go ahead and make a police report that they were beig harassed by these people and hold the banks liable for harassments and intimidation.
   They could go ahead and sue them for the payments but it is no use when tse people have no money to repay the bank.

   Normally banks in other countries sell off their debt to debt collection agency and for them to continue negotiating repayments etc. Even if they have sold the bad debts it does not necessarily man the debtor owes the debt collection agency. Because the debtor did not sign anything or use anything belonging to the det collection agency. Otherwise the bank usually write them off as bad debt.

   This is one thing Indonesia cannot get out of their own financial crisis is because they kept holding to those that are lost and still consider by mountin them onto their assets and considered outstanding.

   And one thing it is what Indonesian academians and economist are good for I suppose.

7. BacKStbrZ Says:
   June 5th, 2009 at 6:47 am

   i think tivi stinks….. but it still has info… its just how you recieve the info…

   I assume that black box is some kinda diamond covered with shit…..

   so….

   do you eat all the shit or you filter it for the diamonds before…..

   Internet?? No dif….

   BTW, if i had a chance to kick all producers of reality shows in Indonesia… I would hapilly aim for the nuts…. FYI… With Major Strength…

8. retarders Says:
   June 6th, 2009 at 2:04 am

   Well,

   Not only in Indonesia, here in the USA, new reality shows are emerging with similar motives/ scripting. Enter: Operation Repo, a show that was imported from Hispanic television show with the same name and same cast members.

   You will see that clearly what they are doing is simply against the law (or pushing the envelope I should say). It makes me wonder sometimes how can someone just trespass into another’s property and start repo-ing their car/ vehicle.

   All of this translated to more ratings though in the very end, and that is how they played their game.

9. Ross Says:
   June 6th, 2009 at 4:18 pm

   Just an extraneous thought.
   In the light of Omni Hospital’s recent behaviour, (and let’s all boycott that place, at least!) can those of us who post on this forum be sure that RCTI and other potentially aggrieved targets won’t have us dragged off to court?

10. BacKStbrZ Says:
    June 7th, 2009 at 5:39 am

    heyy… a matter of fact pancasila is no longer in the hearts of our people… they dont even know the philosophy of pancasila…. its only a line read in front of students at monday now…

11. BacKStbrZ Says:
    June 7th, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    I’m sorry i gotta post this to a-matter-of-fact, dont know that he wil ever read it…

    Just calling me a dickhead wont prove a thing…..

    So you are a Nobleman? a people’s person? a warrior of pancasila?

    READ THIS

    Yes it is… ask 1 million students do they know its philosophy? ask them what “padi kapas” stands for???

    DO THEY REALLY KNOW???

    you calling me disloyal? hahahah, the one’s disloyal is who cant see his own country “truth perspective”

    We are not living in a world of dreams!! be moderate… see with the eyes, think for GOD SAKES….

    Btw where’s your post? Thats what anger gives you….. nothing.

12. Montana Says:
    June 10th, 2009 at 2:54 am

    I don’t even watch reality tv anymore, most of it is just banking on people’s misery, i saw one on Discovery channel where they pretended to steal a crippled man’s truck and overhauled it. Of course, they made him happy in the end, but why did they have to put him through a week of misery?

13. Merah Says:
    June 16th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

    For what it’s worth, it appears more than a few people have made formal complaints about “Dibaya Lunas” to KPI. RCTI has at least had their wrists slapped, and publically.

    On 10 Juni 2009 KPI posted to their website the following public announcement as regards “Dibayar Lunas” on 10 Juni 2009. (For those who aren’t conversant with Bahasa Indonesia, essentially KPI condemned the show’s content as inhumane- specifically June 6th’s program; apologized to those who had complained (especially to the exploited poor), assured the public they (KPI) were in solidarity with the masyarakat and orang miskin, and also “called upon” RCTI to clean up their act in the future.)

    It doesn’t appear from the following announcement that KPI has moved to sanction RCTI in any legal sense. (I have no idea if they have the authority to do so)

    —————————————————————
    http://www.kpi.go.id/index.php?etats=detail&nid=1110
    —————————————————————
    Rabu, 10 Juni 2009
    “Dibayar Lunas” RCTI Juga Kena Semprit

    Selain menghentikan program Bukan Empat Mata Trans 7, Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia (KPI) Pusat, kemarin, (10/6) juga menghimbau program reality show “Dibayar Lunas” yang ditayangkan pada Sabtu, 6 Juni 2009 pukul 17.30 WIB di RCTI.

    Himbauan diberikan karena program ini dinilai mengeksploitasi orang miskin, tidak mendidik dan tidak manusiawi. Selain itu, KPI Pusat juga banyak menerima aduan dari masyarakat yang mengeluhkan acara ini.

    Ternyata, himbauan ini tidak hanya ditujukan untuk program dibayar lunas, dalam surat tersebut disebutkan, KPI Pusat juga meminta agar RCTI lebih berhati-hati untuk menampilkan tayangan kehidupan rakyat miskin dalam reality show sejenis tayang di stasiunnya.

14. Brother Mouzone Says:
    June 19th, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    @Patung

    There’s a synopsis of that episode here, says the woman’s kid was treated for dengue fever.

    I heard that too – turned out after treatment that it wasn’t dengue but it was actually the mumps – I think the hospital involved was (Censored – Brother Mouzone’s Lawyer)

15. Rob Says:
    June 20th, 2009 at 4:24 pm

    The debt collectors are outrageous in Indonesia. It is the only place I have lived where the solution is you pay or we destroy your house, your office, we beat you to within an inch of your life, we beat your family members to within an inch of their lives, we will kill your pets. And, there is just no escaping it. It does not matter if the debt is not yours as you are supposed to know where the person with the debt is…

    Banks are notorious for using hired thugs (AKA debt collectors), which is stupid as most people would be willing to pay but just need to work out a structured payment plan in order to do so.

    However, on the reality TV front, others have already made the comment that most applies here; the more sensational or dramatic, the better the ratings.

16. Ross Says:
    June 20th, 2009 at 11:53 pm

    Thanks, Merah, good to know that some justice is visible, and yes, Rob, I’ve heard of these thugs. They should be beaten – bring back the birch!

    In fact, after a press report a year or two back, I contacted the head office of the ‘reputable’ bank involved (begins with an H) and asked them to fire the scummy admin creeps who hired the preman. No anwer, so as usual my view is that a Prita-style campaign by bloggers et. might do the trick.

    Unfortunately, as with my proposed boycott of Trans TV’s pro-terrorist freak Dorce, unless lots of people care enough to send an email, nothing will happen.

    I gather Fifi, the murder victim in Tangerang, has elicited zero support from all the goody-two-shoes who (quite rightly) supported Prita.

Your view on “Debt Collection, RCTI Reality TV Style” :

Name

Email address

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.