Public needs to honor researchers: Official

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)