Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
It is a warm day in Jakarta, Indonesia. A young woman sits in her car. The traffic is busy. None of the cars are able to move. The woman looks at the empty driving lane next to her. This space is a special part of the road. It is only for buses and emergency vehicles. As she watches, a car drives past. This car is driving in the special lane. She recognizes the car. It is the car of a government official named Salim Segaf Aljufri! She holds up her telephone. She takes a picture. She puts the picture on the Internet using Twitter. Many people see the picture on this social media website. The very next day, the police appear at Aljufri’s office. And they give him a fine for breaking traffic laws!
Voice 2
The Internet is a powerful tool for communication, learning, and sharing. But it is also a tool for political change. Today’s Spotlight is on how Indonesians are using the Internet to change their government and society.
Voice 1
Indonesia is a large country in Southeast Asia. Over 240 million people live there. For the last 20 years, Indonesia has worked to become a fully democratic state. Much of that work has been successful. However, many Indonesians still identify problems with their country. Some citizens complain about poor government. Others worry about the country’s lack of security. And still others describe the country’s poor economic situation.
Voice 2
Many Indonesians work hard to change these negative issues. Some citizens protest to show their opposition. Others join political movements or work with social organizations to encourage social change. But most recently, Indonesians have been working for change in a new way – by using social media.
Voice 1
Indonesians are major users of social media. They enjoy using these Internet websites to connect with other people. Nearly 17% of Indonesians uses social media websites every day. The most popular social media websites are Twitter and Facebook. And Indonesia has the second highest number of Facebook users in all of Asia.
Voice 2
This high use of social media has begun to influence how Indonesians encourage change. More and more people are using social media to share their opinions about social and political issues. Social media helps many Indonesians become involved. It helps them feel like they have power to influence their government. And news spreads more quickly. If a politician says or does something wrong, people can discuss it on social media. And this can change public opinion.
Voice 1
In October of 2012, social media influenced the actions of the Indonesian President. In the Indonesian government, there is a group called the Corruption Eradication Commission or KPK. The KPK works to find corrupt or dishonest officials. Corrupt officials often accept money or bribes to do illegal things for people. The KPK works to find corruption and punish the people responsible.
Voice 2
In 2012, the KPK was investigating one of the country’s top police officials. The police were not happy with the KPK’s investigation. The police were using their power to block the KPK’s work. This action made many Indonesians angry. They believed the KPK should be able to work freely. So they talked about it on social media.
Voice 1
On Facebook, people started a “Save KPK” movement. And on Twitter, “Save KPK” became a very popular conversation subject. People criticized the President for being quiet on the issue. The “Save KPK” movement became so popular that news organizations were talking about it! Soon, the President ordered the police to stop interfering with the KPK investigation. And he said that Indonesians on social media made it clear that he needed to act!
Voice 2
Social media has also been important for Indonesians who are fighting for their rights. In 2008, Prita Mulyasari had a terrible experience at the hospital. Her doctors treated her poorly. They told her wrong information about her condition. And they ordered tests that were not needed. She was very angry about her experience. When she got home, she wrote an email about it to friends and family.
Voice 1
Some of Mulyasari’s friends sent the email to other people. Soon, it spread all over the Internet. A news organization even reported on it! And Mulyasari’s doctors saw the report. They were angry, too. They did not think Mulyasari should have written negative things about them. So they took her to court. They wanted her to pay money and to go to prison.
Voice 2
Many people in Indonesia believed the doctors were wrong. But, they also thought the doctors would probably win. They believed this because the doctors had money to pay for a good legal expert. And Mulyasari did not. So, a group of people started a movement on Facebook. The movement raised money to help Mulyasari pay for her court case. Without the power of the Internet, Mulyasari probably would have lost her case. But in 2012, court officials ruled that Mulyasari was innocent. It was because of social media that Mulyasari did not go to prison for expressing her opinion.
Voice 1
Social media is a way for people to easily and quickly share their ideas and experiences. Sometimes, this can create action and influence real change. However, it does not always lead to permanent change. In Mulyasari’s case, politicians became involved. Her simple email became a national discussion about health care and the courts. But, court officials did not change any laws. Arjuna Dibley is a writer for the magazine Inside Indonesia. She wrote about the Mulyasari case. She talked about why there was no change in the law. She said:
Voice 3
“Today, social media action in Indonesia is concentrated on short messages and quick reaction to new cases. Social media lacks the long term, deep power required to create legal changes. Mulyasari’s case shows that once the early popularity of a particular case is gone, the discussion ‘moves on’ to new issues. But the difficult, complex and longer term goal of creating legal change remains unanswered.”
Voice 2
What do you think about social media? Do you think it has the power to change governments and even laws? How do people use social media in your country? You can leave your comments on the script page of this program. Or you can email us at radio@radioenglish.net.
Voice 1
The writer and producer of this program was Dianna Anderson. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again and read it on the Internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, “The Internet and Social Change in Indonesia.”
Voice 2
We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program! Goodbye!
Question:
What do you think about social media? Do you think it has the power to change governments and even laws? How do people use social media in your country?
In my country, social media like Facebook is very popular. I think it is useful in many cases. But it also has some negatives. We should use it more carefully to get the better results that we all want and hope.
I think social media bring a lot of benefits and negative effect also, depend on how we use it. I think it has the power to change governments and even laws. In my country, people use social media a lot, especially Facebook.
In my country all social media are very used. Especially Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. The people use to comment acts politicians about many subjects. Also use to spread fake News. I hope that they can use to help other people.
The social media is a good tool to spread news. It may help to change the society as positively as negatively. There are cell phones all over the places. Many times, we have an only vision about the issue reported, another times it also can be a fake new. In my country, we have had many troubles with fake news during the pandemic, it has been affecting the public health involving politician contests. I think that the people are so offensive because they don’t think about effects to long term, after all the social media doesn’t require it and it is for this reason that it also works for democracy.
In my country the social media is very used to spread a fake and real news.especially it is used by young a people ( 12 to 40 years).
The social media provides a good benefits as inform and learn the people a many thing but it has a big disadvantage for a family dissociation
social media in our country is became means of information and gives us the real kind of life of citizens
In my country alot of people working by social media
It was a nice powerful story of the internet and the boldness of a Indonesian..
And Thanks Sportlight for this program, I learn lots of English, pls continue this program
I think it can change the world ,the most people uses the social media special Facebook
In my country many people use social media to change the government and they could change government by using Facebook.
Overall , social media has postive and negative side
I think it has the powre to change the government
People in Eygpt use social media in very badly
– I think the social media is serving us in different things , it’s help us in connect and making the world like a small village .
– yes , I think so
– the people here in my country use the social media to share their favourite times , business , and express about their opinions . I think the rest of people in the world do that too .
in my country we used to publish rumor ، fakes and scandals . i hope to change this
Social media is a good way to discuss topics around the world. But we should use it wisely, and don’t believe anything that people say. I think yes it has the power to change governments but it is not an effective way.
Before 4 years ago we used to write in twitter and use hashtag to complain and government solve all problems but now if you have a problem you can talk to government directly.
I think social media is a really strong tool that can make changes in real life at also can help poor people who have no power or money to help themselves like what happened to Prita Mulyasari. She could win by the help of social media.
I am from VietNam. The facebook’s user is so large. But, many of them is aggression and do not have thinking about their action. Therefore, my country’s social media is terrible. It can depend on young children.
The social media is bring a lot of benefits, it helpe the people to express thire opinions and spread easly and quckli.
Yes, i think the social media have power to change governments, but in my opinion it does not change the laws, Because the laws were written by the constitution.
In my country the people use the social media in all time in the day. They uses the Watsapp, twittre, inestgram, and snapchat. All people are discuss the news in the social media, everybody can experss his opinion in the social media.
Everything in the world is connected by social media; it is a large source of information and it has the power to change governments and even laws, but it also has many exceptions that could lead to a bad outcome. My country is regarded as having a lack of cultural behavior when it comes to using social media, but I believe this will change in the coming years.
In Iraq, about a year ago, we decided to start a demonstration, and the social media helped us express our ideas and what we want.
Actually , the social media is a way that chang all of the world , we can share everything at any time we need. The people in my country use Social media as like as andonisia , but the different that the goverment does not answer for any of cases.
Our goverment is very careless for the people , but someday , we will sucess and we will grow up
I think that the social media can change the country because the news and couts
But sometimes social media can be lies space and wrong things
Nowdays the stockholm Al media is anew waypon with two side it’s have abig positive effect in our life as long as we use it in a good way like solve the poblic issues, talking about the goverment, our opinion and in buesness…. About me im using it to learning and buesness
The same thing is happening in Algeria, the internet has become the power of the people and their true voice
I social media is the best way to common our Problems.
I think there are tow types of people who are using social media
1_ people develop their ideas
2_ people who spent alot of time
So I am with the first type of people
For the second question
I think yes the social media can change on the government and law,
People in my country spend their time on working and studying because we suffer from economic problems.
In my country Facebook is very popular,but I think every one who uses social media should be carefuly when he messenger any news and should be honest.
Nowadays,the social media is very popular in the world. In my country, we’re offen using Facebook to share informations, ideas, experiences or connect people. Social media is useful tool and powerful if we’re using positive.
I think the social media it is the number one and the fastest in our current generation the people using to know the news around the world .
Yes the social media has the power to influence to change government, politician and laws.
In my country the people use the social media in bad way they used to spreading rumors about any thing.
The social media is bad because the most he uses it unconsciously
Social media is a powerful tool that can influence public opinion, mobilize movements, and shape discourse. It certainly has the potential to impact governments and laws by providing a platform for organizing protests, spreading awareness, and holding officials accountable.
In my country, people use social media for various purposes including sharing personal updates, connecting with friends and family, consuming news, and engaging in political discussions. It serves as a platform for activism, advocacy, and sometimes even misinformation campaigns. Overall, its impact on governance and legislation depends on how effectively it is utilized by citizens and activists.
Social media can influence public opinion and spark discussions on governance, but its impact on changing governments and laws varies. Usage patterns in my country include staying connected, sharing news, and engaging in diverse discussions.
Social media can indeed influence public opinion and bring attention to important issues, potentially affecting governments and laws. In the United States, people use social media for various purposes, including staying informed, expressing opinions, and participating in discussions. It has played a role in shaping public discourse and mobilizing movements on social and political issues. However, the impact varies, and it’s important to consider the broader context of political and social dynamics.
the people use the social media in the wrong way beacause everibody has social media and the people just use to have fun
Social networks have been used for movements of social and political change, such as the Arab Spring and the Black Lives Matter movement. They have allowed greater citizen participation and have given voice to groups that were previously marginalized.
However, there have also been concerns about the influence of social networks on politics.
The social media is a good tool to spread news. It may help to change the society as positively as negatively. There are cell phones all over the places. Many times, we have an only vision about the issue reported, another times it also can be a fake new. In my country, we have had many troubles with fake news during the pandemic,
Social media can indeed influence public opinion and bring attention to important issues, potentially affecting governments and laws. In the United States, people use social media for various purposes, including staying informed, expressing opinions, and participating in discussions. It has played a role in shaping public discourse and mobilizing movements on social and political issues.
I think social media is a place where you can relax not to be in political issues.
I sertantly think so.
I think they use social media to laugh and have a good time.
The music is so loud I can’t hear through it !! The topics are interesting, so please lower the volume. Thank you
Hi! Thanks for listening and for your comment. We are being more mindful of the sound volume in our newer productions.
I think social media can affect in a small scale and a short time…. Because people’s memory is too short … Because over time they will easily forget the cause for which they are fighting.
yes social media can made a big change. espically when all ppl come togather to discuss something and protest aganist it. i think we should use this to our own good and to change some racist laws or to stop a war etc. i remmeber the effect of social media about george floyd case and how ppl made a huge change. In my country we use
I think there are too many advantages of the internet and social media power except politics and changing governments which the writer want to focus on , maybe of her/his sexual orientation selecting this topic especially in Islamic country as Indonesia.we saw what happened in middle east after 2010 all countries has problems who go with what called Arab Spring….
I think there are too many advantages of the internet and social media power except politics and changing governments which the writer want to focus on , maybe of her/his sexual orientation selecting this topic especially in Islamic country as Indonesia.we saw what happened in middle east after 2010 all countries has problems who go with what called Arab Spring….2