Improving national competence internationally

Improving national competence internationally

By Mochtar Buchori

JAKARTA (JP): Foreign Minister Ali Alatas complained recently
about Indonesian diplomats' lack of debating capability. He cited
insufficient command of English and poor debating skill as the
reasons. The latter being the consequence of tradition.

Indonesian tradition states that it is improper for anyone to
embarrass a speaker or a participant in a discussion by asking
difficult questions or expressing unpleasant remarks.

I think Minister Alatas' remark applies to non-diplomats as
well. Complaints have been expressed for a long time that
Indonesian participants are usually too quiet at international
seminars. They do not raise questions or give comment, and if
they must respond to remarks or comments about their
presentation, they usually do this in a rather clumsy way.

The reason for this poor performance is, I think, similar to
the one cited by the minister: Poor English and lack of skill in
presenting and defending ideas and opinions in a systematic and
eloquent manner.

It is truly a relief to observe that a new generation of
Indonesians seems to have emerged. On several occasions during
the past two years, I have witnessed a number of young
Indonesians who performed very admirably as seminar participants.
They presented their views quite systematically and in very
enjoyable English. They did not show any sign of self-
consciousness or uneasiness in using the English language. They
exhibited such a sharp contrast to the older more silent
Indonesians who emphasized their seniority every time they spoke.

These young Indonesians are scholars between 30 and 40 years
old, have studied abroad for an extended period and have
accumulated experience in international seminars.

In addition to their fluent English, their papers are relevant
and respectable, and through their questions, comments, and
remarks they contribute to the clarification of problems
discussed in the seminar.

Observing this contrast, I wonder whether this is truly a sign
of the arrival of a new and more competent generation of
Indonesians. I cannot help ask myself a number of questions: Who
are they really, and what kind of experiences make them so self-
confident? Is there anything from their experience that older
Indonesians can adopt to become more competent and self-
confident? What actually makes these younger Indonesians
seemingly free of certain psychological inhibitions that are so
pervasive among older generations?

If this particular phenomenon is really signaling the birth of
a new generation of Indonesians which is better educated, more
competent, and more self-confident than the preceding ones, then
we do not have to worry excessively about all the shortcomings of
the present generation.

But is this really the case? I doubt it. How many young
Indonesians have the luck of being sent to study abroad for an
extended period of time? And how many of them have managed to go
very far in their studies?

Thus, encouraging as the young generation may be, I somehow do
not think that we can rely entirely on the outflow of more
capable younger Indonesians for a timely improvement in our
national capability in international diplomacy and other
international negotiations.

We shouldn't wait passively for the arrival of more capable
younger Indonesians to increase our competence in international
dealings. For this purpose both the processes of preparing the
younger generation to be more competent (inter-generational
improvement) and stimulating older generations towards self-
improvement (intra-generational improvement) must be encouraged
and supported.

How do we generate this process of personal and generational
self-improvement? What is the basis of such a process?

I think that any self-improvement effort is sparked by the
awareness of one's shortcomings. This awareness will generate
effective efforts toward self-improvement only if it is followed
and propped-up by an understanding of the sources of these
shortcomings. In the case of personal self-improvement this
understanding can be obtained only through honest introspective
self-examination, a process which can be very painful and
requires courage and humility.

Collective self-improvement within one generation is basically
the same process. There must be awareness concerning the
shortcomings of one generation, and there must be knowledge
concerning the origin of these shortcomings.

The principle difference is that generational self-improvement
cannot happen without an organized effort. It is unrealistic to
expect that a generation will embark upon a self-improvement
effort without the support of a solid organization.

In most cases it is processional, occupational or bureaucratic
organizations that have the capability of generating a sustained
self-improvement campaign. Generational self-improvement efforts
then become professional, occupational or bureaucratic retraining
activities.

Experience shows that without strong motivation for personal
self-improvement, professional retraining programs cannot bring
about permanent professional improvement. Such retraining
programs are capable only of generating temporary improvements,
and cannot create ethos for professional perfectionism.

And it is this ethos which, in my opinion, can bring about
significant improvement in our national capability in
international interactions. What are the most important sources
of our poor national performance in international interactions?

We will only be able to answer this question if we are willing
to honestly search our souls. Such probing will lead us towards
knowledge about ourselves and is the beginning of self-
improvement.

Each generation must discover if they are willing to
acknowledge their shortcomings and if there is confidence in the
nation's capacity for professional self-improvement based on the
ethos of perfectionism.

The writer is on observer of social and political affairs.