Public needs to honor researchers: Official

JAKARTA (JP): Officials here have warned that if the public fails to accord researchers the proper respect and acknowledgment they truly deserve, the field will be sidelined and Indonesia itself will suffer from a lack of technological innovation.

The secretary-general at the State Ministry of Research and Technology, Jose Roesma, said the lack of prestige given to researchers make many shy away from working as researchers.

"Most Indonesians underestimate the existence of researchers and cannot see the importance of their role in the country's development," he said on Thursday.

Jose did not highlight financial reasons for this predicament, but instead argued that a lack of information dissemination about the work of research institutions was the cause.

"There are many research agencies in the country but somehow their work rarely gets the spotlight it deserves and this keeps the public to from acknowledging it," he said during the presentation of the 1999 Indonesia Toray Science Foundation award.

He contended that the country already had a sufficient number of research agencies, they only needed to be given better credit for their work.

According to Jose, the ministry will assign a senior official to help disseminate information on prominent research work in an attempt to promote the brainchilds of the country's researchers.

Minister of National Education Yahya Muhaimin, in a written speech read out by Director General of Higher Education Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro, also cited the importance of promoting domestic research work.

"The public should know that by enhancing research here, they will in turn help bolster the quality of human resources," Yahya said.

Yahya underlined the importance of having experience in research if Indonesia was to have qualified human resources capable of competing in the global era.

The minister also expressed hope that more university lecturers would delve into research work.

"I envision that in two years 50 percent of the 100,000 lecturers in the country will become researchers," he added.

He said that about one-third of all university lecturers already had the necessary academic credentials and capacity to conduct various kinds of research.

However speaking to journalists, Satryo later lamented that the government had cut research funding in the 2000 draft budget, claiming it had gone down 40 percent in the education sector.

He said such a drastic cut would only hamper the promotion of the research field and deter people from conducting research.

The 2000 draft budget allocates around Rp 12 billion for research in the education sector. The previous budget appropriated Rp 20 billion.

However, the draft budget only allocates money for a nine- month fiscal year compared to the 12 months of previous budgets.

The overall funds allocated for research in the draft budget is set at Rp 600 trillion.

"We are going to urge the private sector and universities to be more concerned about research because, especially in the private sector, new innovations should be one of their primary concerns to enhance their products," he added.

During the presentation ceremony, 30-year-old scientist Ismunandar was presented an award for his work in the structure and properties of metal oxides.

At the sixth annual event special awards were also presented to six science teachers from across the country for their innovative teaching methods in explaining science to high school students.

Another 21 researchers each received a grant of between Rp 20 million to Rp 40 million to finance their work. (04)