Judges of the TV show Indonesian Idol, produced by a division of RTL, has been criticized for making discriminatory remarks about contestants. Judges of this year’s season include three popular singers and songwriter. “Their comments contain gender bias,” Hartoyo, a representative of the Alliance of People Caring for Television Programs in Indonesia, said at a meeting of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (IBC) in Jakarta yesterday. He said the judges had humiliated contestants, which was “obviously against the IBC’s policies and human rights law.” Responding to the activists’ criticism, Idy Muzayyad from the IBC promised to remind the channel and encouraged people to monitor programs so as to ensure their quality. Indonesian Idol began airing on the RCTI channel in 2004 and has become one of the most popular shows in the country.