Diplomats' quality could improve: Senior official

Diplomats' quality could improve: Senior official

JAKARTA (JP): In response to an avalanche of criticism of
Indonesia's foreign service, a senior foreign ministry official
has defended the quality of Indonesian diplomats while conceding
that the ministry's effectiveness has at times suffered because
of inadequate coordination, consultation and communication.

The foreign ministry's Secretary General, Abdul Irsan,
expressed confidence in the abilities of the country's young
diplomatic corps.

"I feel optimistic about the performance of our younger
generation of diplomats. They're very able, have a broad
perception and confidence," he said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said last week that
Indonesian diplomats needed to be more assertive and proactive in
carrying out their duties as the executors of the country's
foreign policy.

Alatas underlined the need for Indonesian diplomats to discard
the custom of keeping silent and to quickly respond to and refute
unfavorable reports about Indonesia.

Some analysts and former diplomats have said the current
generation of diplomats lacks quality.

While acknowledging the various flaws, Irsan contended that
the diplomats' quality was continuously improving. He reserved
particular praise for the performance of diplomats who have been
sent abroad to undertake post-graduate studies.

"Based on experience of our young diplomats I don't think I
feel disappointed. Especially those who have completed their
post-graduate study abroad -- they have now shown a more than a
weak performance," Irsan remarked.

The foreign ministry, as part of its human resources
development program, provides scholarships abroad for young
diplomats to further specialize and broaden their knowledge.

According to Irsan, there are now nearly 200 diplomats with
post-graduate and doctoral degrees out of the some 1,000 working
in and for the foreign ministry.

He argued that what is important is not just the academic
qualifications degree itself, but the ability to apply the
knowledge gained and maintain a sense of belonging towards the
foreign ministry, in spite of its imperfections.

At the same time, he urged the more senior diplomats to give
every opportunity to the younger ones to build their confidence
and "accept the differences that realistically exist between us."

Speaking of the ministry's shortcomings, Irsan said that he
perceived a lack of coordination and consultation as frequent
problem.

"Our weakness at the moment is at times a lack of
coordination, consultation and communication," said the Secretary
General, who assumed his post just a few months ago.

In the face of the changing international situation and the
challenges confronting Indonesian foreign policy, careful
scrutiny of the foreign ministry's structure is also needed, he
said.

"Human rights is an important issue which is being faced by
Indonesia, but in the (ministry's) structure it is only handled
by section heads," Irsan said.

"We slowly need to perfect our structure. This (human rights)
is a world issue," he added.

Meanwhile, earlier yesterday at the foreign ministry building,
39 first class service medals, Bintang Jasa Utama, were presented
to former diplomats for their contributions as Indonesian envoys
abroad.

The medals were awarded by Alatas on behalf of President
Soeharto. Thirty former diplomats or their kin attended the
ceremony while one was unable to attend and the whereabouts of
the other eight was unknown.

Included in the list of recipients are former ambassador to
Canberra, Sabam Siagian, and former ambassador to Ottawa, Adiwoso
Abubakar.(mds)