Indonesia's Press Council described the Supreme Court's decision ordering Time magazine to pay former president Soeharto Rp 1 trillion (US$106 million) as an "evil omen" for local journalists covering corruption stories. Council vice chairman Leo Batubara said the Supreme Court justices should have implemented the 1999 Press Law, as was done by other justices when they examined a libel case brought against Tempo magazine by businessman Tommy Winata in 2006, instead of using the Criminal Code. Leo said the usage of the Criminal Code in cases relating to the media would paralyze journalists' creativity as they would become anxious when covering stories about corrupt officials. "I hope that every media corporation throughout the country will unite to stand against the ruling by pressing the judges to use the Press Law when dealing with press-related cases ... So they cannot effectively use the Criminal Code in settling legal disputes with the media,&q