Indonesia's advantage as an 'open society'

Byron Black, Jakarta

We in Indonesia tend to focus too sharply on the problems facing the nation, and indeed there are massive and urgent ones to be solved. Illegal logging and environmental degradation, religious and ethnic violence, massive corruption, malnutrition and poor health, an acutely-deprived educational system: These and other challenges must be addressed and dealt with forcefully and effectively, to bring this Republic up to a level of well- being, stability and prosperity.

It is equally relevant to consider exploitation of the tremendous advantage Indonesia possesses, in being an open culture, and how it may gain a competitive lead in the coming globalized era.

As an example of how openness gives a society an advantage, consider how many million Filipinos are already working in countries around the world, integrated smoothly into medicine, banking, industry, education and other fields. Pinoys and pinays are particularly in demand for technical and professional jobs in the Middle East, and it is rare to find a hospital in Europe or America without at least one Filipino doctor or nurse. Of course, like the Malaysians and Singaporeans they have the extra advantage of an English-language-based educational system.

Indonesians are also in demand overseas, but generally for lower-paid work: Seamen, hospital orderlies, construction laborers -- and, of course, the notorious "takeaway" girls. This is rapidly changing, however, as Indonesians come back from overseas study with advanced degrees in banking, finance, and particularly engineering: Many of the oil rig jobs which used to be reserved for white-skinned "oilies" can now be handled by trained local personnel, and increasing numbers of technical and management positions are being filled by Indonesians as well (for obvious reasons, as they draw much lower salaries, even when the pay is very attractive by local standards, and they know the language and the culture, so they won't cause trouble).

One key to enhancing the competitive advantage of an "open Indonesia" is upgrading the level of English competence. The misfortune of Indonesia in colonial times was to have the Netherlanders as their overlords: Dutch is frankly a useless language in international business and communication. Even if you speak the language, when you go to the Netherlands a Dutchman will most probably respond to you in English.

Closed cultures have a very ambivalent, if not schizophrenic, attitude toward foreign languages and foreign language learning. Anyone who has ever tried to teach a foreign language in Japan or China will tell you of the terrific difficulty of working with local learners, even highly intelligent ones. There seems to be a kind of mental block, a filter through which the students innately feel nervous, afraid and even shamed when speaking a foreign tongue, as though this were somehow betraying their national character.

Linguistics researchers call this a "cultural morality" and thank God Indonesians aren't afflicted with it. The reason for linguistic openness is obvious, for those with even a glancing acquaintance with Indonesian history.

China is even worse, as the Chinese inherently believe in their natural superiority: Even the name, Jung-gwo, means "Central Kingdom". They are trained from childhood to believe they are by far the most civilized race in the world, and that their language and culture are superior to others. In fact, the plain truth is that China is a primitive, over-populated country with a ruined ecology, bankrupt ideology, corrupt civil service, beset with catastrophic social problems. The Chinese are therefore pressed to seek their survival with the aid of the outside world, either in purchasing their tsunami of export goods or assisting with medical expertise in dealing with AIDS, SARS or other public health crises.

All of this means dealing professionally and equitably with outsiders, in English. Anywhere you go, public relations and English skills are no longer the exclusive preserve of the expert Westerner or native speaker. They are analogous to the fluorescent light fixture, the reciprocating-piston internal- combustion gasoline engine or the digital computer: There is no longer any "nationality" attached to Marketing, Public Relations, Advertising or English competence, as these are de facto global skills, with accepted rules of practice.

Take the Middle East, where there is a healthy market for trained professional communicators, marketing personnel and English experts. A qualified Indonesian will have a natural advantage in getting a job with a company or government body there, particularly if he or she is a Muslim.

Specific areas of expertise that deal with shortcomings in Indonesian dealing with outsiders will have to be addressed. For instance, there is the notorious reactive stance of the Javanese in confrontational situations, where a pro-active position is plainly superior. The entire educational system is based on an ikut-ikut mentality, where originality, questioning of authority or tradition and forthrightness are not encouraged. (This, by the way, explains the tremendous influence of minority groups like the Batak who, while composing only a fraction of the population, hold numerous important positions in banking, entertainment, the military and government service -- they are encouraged from childhood to take a bold and confident approach to others.)

Those with experience in broadcasting, theater, music or promotion today consider specializing in the teaching and coaching of presentation skills, a very important talent for businesspeople, and a particular weakness of Indonesians. Executives and companies will often be ready to spend money to upgrade their star personnel for road shows, shareholder meetings, and other events.

The passive approach to education and securing a job is most inappropriate in this highly competitive age, and a common complaint of multinational employers in Indonesia is the relative passiveness or what they perceive of as the "immaturity" of local staff people. In general, incidentally, women tend to be more forthright and dynamic than men, and are thus often preferred by foreign employers.

With the advent of ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) it will be easier for Indonesians to get permission to work in lucrative professional positions overseas -- but by the same token people here will be competing for jobs with Singaporeans, Australians and Malaysians, all of whom have the considerable advantage of a superior educational background (and, of course, fluency in English). They have also been imbued with a more dynamic and creative approach to problem-solving in day-to-day activities.

The writer is Director of Publications, London School of Public Relations, Jakarta.