A memorial lecture

Dr. Ohmae's one-hour lecture in the context of the recent Panglaykim series of lectures was refreshing and has led us to do some rethinking.

The lecture, although very short, presented a very wide spectrum of basic human values, one being the virtue of two-way communication commonly known as "dialog".

Dr. Ohmae, who has a wide range of knowledge, showed the audience an example of a short dialog between a teacher and a student. At a certain point the student asked the teacher a question and the teacher frankly admitted that he did not know the answer to that question, adding that they should talk about it, and perhaps "we would discover a wonderful thing!"

That's what I think a guru (teacher) should do in dealing with inquisitive and critical students.

The essence of the above example is that an individual should be given the freedom to talk and express themselves rather than have their development blocked and being confronted with piles of instructions.

Let students think and consider for themselves what is bad and good, what is right and wrong, as cited by Dr. Ohmae.

Individuals develop naturally if they are free. Freedom is a gift from God. A scientist, a technocrat or a bureaucrat should respect this freedom as such if the basic value of human rights is to be maintained.

AVIANTO

Jakarta