Mega: When being right does not matter

Mega: When being right does not matter

Ong Hock Chuan, Technical Advisor, Maverick, Jakarta

If there is any proof needed that leadership is a thankless
task, we need look no further than the flak President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's government is getting over its decision to
withdraw subsidies on fuel prices and utility charges.

Here you have a government that has finally demonstrated
resolve and courage in taking a right, but unpopular, move. Yet
instead of being supported, thanked and maybe praised it is being
universally condemned and abandoned by faint-hearted House of
Representative members out to save their own skins.

The protests are mounting and the criticisms are getting
louder from every quarter. It is unfair, but the government and
Megawati must also realize that it is a problem they have brought
about on themselves because of their paltry communications
skills. It is a situation they can avoid, and can still change,
if they merely observed some basic principles of communications.

One of them is that people can get used to most things within
a short space of time. However, if surprised, people often react
adversely. In a position to control the timing of the subsidy
withdrawals, Megawati's government should have used the month
leading up to its announcement to condition Indonesians to the
idea of price hikes.

This is known as "softening the ground" among some political
communicators. How governments have done it is to selectively
"leak" stories to the media on the impending price a hike. Often
these leaks paint a grimmer picture than the actual announcement.
The principle here is that a public that is braced for, say, a 15
percent price hike will greet an announcement of a 10 percent
price hike with relief rather than anger. In the language of
persuasion this is known as "occupying the extremes" so that
anything that comes in between looks reasonable.

The other communications principle that Megawati and her
government seems to have ignored is that it is not enough to have
accurate messages; you have also to deliver the messages
accurately if you want the public to understand you and win the
image war that your critics are sure to wage once you announce
such an important move.

In this instance Megawati has shaped accurate messages, as
evidenced in her speech at the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle's (PDI Perjuangan) 30th anniversary gathering in Bali on
Sunday. There, she articulated the necessity of the government's
decision to withdraw subsidies even though it was unpopular: It
was the only way that Indonesia can progress without being
eternally in debt.

That Indonesia cannot go on sustaining itself from the money
derived from excessive exploitation of its natural resources.
That it was good for the economy in the long run. That
Indonesians must go through this period of belt tightening if it
is to emerge stronger.

The delivery of the message, however, was anything but
effective and these well-articulated messages have been neglected
or forgotten in the crescendo of protests and criticisms against
her and her government. Megawati should realize that the only way
she could hope to get her message across is to have her and
designated spokespeople repeat these messages at every
opportunity.

People, especially those in high positions, tend to make the
mistake that the public is entirely rational and diligent about
what they have said. The truth cannot be further. Most people
register only impressions of an event. Mostly they do not
remember the details or the argument. The only way to ensure that
they begin to understand her message is for her and her Cabinet
members to take every opportunity to reinforce the messages she
delivered in Bali.

That is why the most successful politicians conduct road shows
and tours across the nation when they want to rally people to a
cause or to "socialize" an initiative that is not popular. And in
such socialization keeping message discipline is important or it
will cause confusion.

Within Megawati's own party, for instance, its faction leader
in the House of Representatives Roy Janis has said that the party
opposes the price hikes, but its deputy secretary-general Pramono
Anung has said that it supports the price hikes, so long as they
do not impact on transport charges. Mixed messages like these
give an impression that the powers that be are anything but
united or resolved. It is not democracy. It is internal confusion
spilling out to the public.

The other principle that Megawati should observe is that what
she, her husband Taufik Kiemas, and her Cabinet ministers do at
all times is as important as what they say. The public always
scrutinizes every move of its leaders. Actions often speak louder
than words. In this instance her words to the nation are to
willingly sacrifice and tighten its belt for the good of
Indonesia. Yet their actions speak the opposite. Her husband's
big and lavish birthday bash coming so close to the announcement
of price hikes and at the same island of her speech gives people
an impression of hypocrisy.

Throughout history peoples have shown themselves willing to
walk through fire for leaders who share their burden. They have
also shown that they would not follow any leader they perceive as
unsympathetic and insensitive to their problems and suffering,
let alone leaders who fiddle while their livelihoods are scorched
by the impact of fuel price and utility fee hikes.

Megawati has done a brave and right thing by deciding to
withdraw the subsidies. She deserves plaudits rather than
brickbats. She can still turn around the situation by
communicating to the people to win their hearts and minds. But to
do this she has to realize that her biggest obstacle to success
is her own indifference.

Maverick is a communications consultancy specializing in brand
strategy and crisis and issues management.