Cultural factors also hamper non-smoking campaign: Expert
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)