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?