Cultural factors also hamper non-smoking campaign: Expert
JAKARTA (JP): A mass communications expert warned that a number of cultural factors will hamper the plan to restrict smoking in public transport vehicles and places.
Dr. Muhammad Budyatna, the newly inaugurated dean of the School of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Indonesia (UI), said that Indonesia's "High Context Culture", a culture which expects people to display empathy, to understand what others want or do not want, will be a major constraint to the planned restriction.
In an interview following his inauguration Saturday, Budyatna said that the people who adhere to that kind of culture still express their stance or judgment in a wordless form of communication.
"Everything is stated implicitly," he said.
According to Budyatna, who is a professor of communication, the culture has allowed some people who intentionally want to break the rules, including smokers who ignore their surroundings through their smoking habit.
Budyatna said that the culture is typical of most eastern countries. In western countries, people live in what he referred to called a "Low Context Culture", where communication is performed in a more straightforward way.
More tolerant
However, Budyatna estimated that the application of the restriction plan in Jakarta will be tolerated more than in other minor cities because people in the capital have started to adopt the low context culture in expressing themselves.
"Strong western influences and the interaction of various cultures in the life of Jakartans have forced them not to communicate in the high context culture way," he said.
According to Budyatna, the plan also faces the Indonesians' lack of discipline and ignorance of the existing rules.
Earlier Saturday, UI rector MK Tadjudin inaugurated four new UI officials, including Budyatna who replaced Prof. Juwono Sudarsono.
The rector also inaugurated the new dean of the School of Psychology, Prof. Suprapti Sumarmo Markam, daughter of Prof. Dr. Slamet Iman Santoso, the school's founder and first dean. Suprapti replaced Prof. Yaumil Chairiah Agoes Achir who is now an expert staffer for the Minister of Population. The other two officials are Prof. Mardjono Reksodiputro, the new chief of UI's Community Service Agency who replaced Prof. Tapi Omas Ichromi Simatupang, and the new director of UI's Polytechnic Bagio Budihardjo who replaced Poerwoto Soeratmadjo. (03)