Politics is art of unspoken communication, scholar says<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Politics in Indonesia is an art of unspoken
\ncommunication in which the nuance of signals and symbols often
\ncount more than words, according to a mass communication expert
\nfrom the University of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, like most Asian countries, has a \"high context
\nculture\" where people tend to express themselves in an implicit
\nmanner and expect others to understand them without having to
\nspell things out, M. Budyatna, the dean of the university's
\nSchool of Social and Political Sciences said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"People with this attitude tend to beat around the bush before
\nthey get to their point,\" Budyatna told The Jakarta Post in his
\noffice at the UI campus in nearby Depok.<\/p>\n
Explaining the widely accepted theory on mass communication,
\nBudyatna said that Indonesia contrasts with the \"low context
\nculture\" which prevails among Americans and Europeans.<\/p>\n
People with a low context culture prefer an explicit verbal,
\nor written, approach in communicating with others, said Budyatna,
\nwho was inaugurated as dean last June.<\/p>\n
A person within a high context culture, for example, would
\nspend what they would consider a \"reasonable\" amount of time
\nbeating around the bush before they finally say that they want to
\nborrow money from a friend.<\/p>\n
\"A person within a low context culture would come up straight
\naway saying they need the money,\" Budyatna said.<\/p>\n
Another example he cited is the reaction towards a person who
\nis causing a public disturbance.<\/p>\n
\"The most Indonesians would do in that situation is grumble
\nand swear under their breath. Americans, in contrast, would go
\nstraight up to the person to say he was causing disturbance,\" he
\nsaid. Those with a high context culture would find this attitude
\nimpolite and even offensive, he added.<\/p>\n
However, Budyatna pointed out that differences exist not only
\nbetween the Western and Asian cultures. In Indonesia alone, the
\ncountry's numerous ethnic groups are not free of conflicts.<\/p>\n
The Central Javanese, especially those of Solo and Yogyakartan
\norigins, have a higher degree of the high context culture while
\nIndonesians from Sumatra and most other islands have a lower high
\ncontext culture, he said.<\/p>\n
\"To ask a guest to leave, a Javanese would `politely' ask
\nwhere he was going after the visit,\" he said giving an
\nillustration.<\/p>\n
Miscommunication<\/p>\n
Budyatna said that misunderstandings or misinterpretations
\nbetween different Indonesian cultural standards could result in
\nfatal errors. A good example of this kind of miscommunication, he
\nsaid, was the banning of the Sinar Harapan daily in the 1980's.<\/p>\n
Most of the daily's editorial staff, who were of Sulawesi and
\nBatak (Sumatra) origins, failed to understand and interpret
\ncorrectly the \"signals\" given by the mostly Javanese rulers, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In contrast, the Kompas daily, whose editorial staff are
\nmostly Javanese, caught these signs and succeeded, perhaps just
\nin time, in saving themselves. \"(The banning) is all really a
\nmatter of culture and correct, or incorrect, interpretation,\" he
\nsaid bluntly.<\/p>\n
Budyatna admitted that there was little chance of changing
\nsuch an attitude because \"it is simply how people are (here.)\"<\/p>\n
He also doubted whether Indonesia, via globalization, would
\never become a low context culture.<\/p>\n
\"All Indonesian communities are likely to stay within the
\nlimits of the high context culture, within various parameters,\"
\nhe said.(pwn)<\/p>",
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