Does Mega need a PR makeover?

Does Mega need a PR makeover?

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Staff Writer, Jakarta,
korpur@yahoo.com

What kind of publicity can President Megawati Soekarnoputri
expect from the presidential office, if her public relations
strategy is just a carbon copy of the policy during Soeharto's
authoritarian era? For officials in charge of presidential PR
activities, their main job now is to provide photo or video
albums for the President and record the President's speeches
while failing to make them easily available to the public. Most
of them have worked under Soeharto and it is hard to expect them
to change.

Worse still, they appear to be more diligent in making money
from people who want their photographs taken while shaking hands
with the President rather than improving their boss' image.

President Megawati has repeatedly blamed the media for blowing
up the shortcomings of her government, portraying her as though
she has never done anything right. During her 15 day-overseas
trip, which she described as the travels of a saleswoman
promoting her country, she rebuked people who criticized her
extravagant journey.

During her trip, the President and her husband Taufik Kiemas
were each accompanied by an official cameramen and one
photographer, and at least two officials were in charge of
recording Megawati's speeches. The results so far have been an
addition to the presidential archives. Her speeches were never
transcribed -- at least during her stay abroad -- and were never
distributed adequately to the public.

Presidential officials feel it is more than enough if the
President's activities are covered by the state-owned TVRI, RRI
and the official Antara news agency, which they designate as
"apparatus journalists".

The media -- frequently criticized for its own lack of
professionalism -- continues to complain about the
inaccessibility of the President and her reluctance to talk to
the press. When abroad she becomes talkative with her off-the-
cuff speeches, then returning to her habitual silence at home.

What has she done to improve her relations with the media, or
what steps she has taken to make her more accessible to public?
There have been many discussions among her senior advisors,
including the Cabinet and her party, the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), on how to improve her image.
What concrete steps have they taken to follow up on their
rhetoric?

When asked on Monday on how to access the official
presidential website, two press officers from the Presidential
Secretariat confidently told The Jakarta Post,"Just open
www.ri.go.id. you will find what you want."

The website is still under construction, and the surfer is
asked to open www.Indonesia.go.id.

Megawati's predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, was possibly the
country's most accessible president. He was also assisted by at
least by three spokesmen. Abdurrahman also created an active
website, and the transcriptions of his speeches and statements
were distributed on a daily basis. The website seems to have been
neglected after Megawati replaced Abdurrahman in July last year.

People close to Megawati recently disclosed that she refused
to appoint a personal spokesman. They even suggested that she
hire a professional PR company to handle her publicity. So far
she prefers her ministers do the talking on her behalf with
regard to their respective areas of responsibility.

Confusion occurs when statements differ from those made by the
ministers, who are confident of the President's endorsement
regarding their remarks. When confronted about a questionable
hunt for "buried treasure", Minister of Religious Affairs Said
Agiel al Munawar initially claimed the President backed up his
plan in digging up the Batutulis archeological site in Bogor last
month. Megawati later denied the minister's claim.

Megawati's off-the-cuff speeches are often very interesting,
and people get her message better than from her prepared
statements. But on official occasions, the President must deliver
prepared statements. Most speeches are prepared at the office of
the State Secretary Bambang Kesowo, a holdover from the Soeharto
era. The President needs to find new speech writers, preferably
individuals that are untainted by the "New Order" regime.

The President does not need to imitate sophisticated PR
strategies from the White House. Her messages to the nation could
be received well by the people just by using simple ways, through
talkshows or dialog with the people.

It would serve her well to stop complaining about the media
and face the press in a more friendly manner, as she had done
during her difficult times under Soeharto.

As long as she is still served by people from the Soeharto
era, how can people expect their president be more open to the
public? People around her are busy making denials and rarely
think consider how to be more proactive in confronting
situational changes.

One of Megawati's top advisors recently complained,"The
President trusts her instincts more than our advice." If this is
the case, who is it that must change?