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.