RI must win war of perception

The bomb blast in Bali on Oct. 12, 2002 is an act of terror of great magnitude, the second biggest after the Sept. 11, 2001 WTC tragedy in terms of casualties.

Understandably, it has drawn great international attention as evident from the presence of many international reporters in Bali.

In this context, besides giving the right information about what progress has been made in our probe into this tragedy, the government must also make use of the presence of reporters to explain more accurately to the outside world everything about this disaster.

Today, the creation of perception is of great significance. We must be proactive to win the war of perception now taking place. Therefore, the government must appoint a special spokesman so that we can give more comprehensive information to the world without harming our own interests. Foreign reporters usually give their own version of the story to benefit their own interests.

Then the economic team must appear more frequently to explain what the government has done to address this unfavorable situation.

We can deal with this ordeal only by working together. The Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association has taken a very good initiative to make trips abroad to explain to the world the real situation in Indonesia. This means the government must really work effectively, otherwise the hard work of business circles will be considered as just a big nonsense. The world is waiting to see the results of our work in dealing with this bomb blast tragedy.

-- Kompas, Jakarta