RI told to be more active on Internet

RI told to be more active on Internet

SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): The Indonesian government should
be more active on the Internet by putting out messages on issues
that affect its image abroad, a computer expert said yesterday.

The opportunities offered by the Internet to influence
international public opinion on Indonesia, on the question of
East Timor, for example, have not been fully exploited, said
Joseph Luhukay.

"How come no one (from the government) has opened a home page
on East Timor on the Internet to give the Indonesian perception
of the issue and counter the negative information that is being
fed by others?" asked Luhukay, who has helped connect a number of
government agencies into international computer networks.

The government could also put out messages explaining
Indonesia's Pancasila ideology to the world, he added.

He was speaking during a seminar on the threats and benefits
of the Internet, organized by the Muhammadiyah University in
Surakarta to commemorate National Press Day last Friday.

Luhukay, a doctor from the University of Illinois, said
several Indonesian institutions have already developed their own
network services which are connected to the Internet, including
the University of Indonesia (UI.net) and the Agency for the
Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT.net)

Yet these networks have not been fully used for Indonesia's
political objectives, he said. "Just remember that any piece of
information, no matter how small, put out on the Internet can be
accessed by millions of Internet users worldwide."

The Internet can be an effective tool to safeguard the nation
from the impact of globalized information, a task that the local
mass media could not perform by itself, he said.

Heidar Bagir, a mass communications expert, said Indonesian
press publications have been rather slow in tapping the potential
of the Internet to bolster news coverage.

"They seem reluctant," Heidar told the seminar.

He noted, however, that news sent through the Internet may
arrive faster than through traditional newspapers, but that it
often lacks depth.

Many press publications that have opened home pages on the
Internet are now under pressure to change the way they present
and package their news, he said.

Ahmadi Thoha, a mass communications expert from Gadjah Mada
University in Yogyakarta, pointed out that more and more
newspapers worldwide are making their publications available on
the Internet.

In 1993, there were only 30 newspapers on the Internet. By the
end of 1996, the number available is expected to reach 500, he
said.

Among the daily Indonesian newspapers that have home pages on
the Internet are Kompas and Republika.

Meanwhile, in Bandung, a group of Moslem scholars on Sunday
launched a home page that gives out information on the
development of Islam and Moslem organizations in Indonesia on the
Internet.

MuslimNet (http://www.inkom.lipi.go.id/muslim.htm1), according
to their sponsors, will also be used for the purpose of
propagating the religion.

Sofyan Tsauri, the chairman of the Indonesian Institute of
Science (LIPI), launched the service on Sunday which was followed
by a seminar on the future strategy of religious propagation.

Nurcholish Madjid, a Moslem scholar present at the launching,
said he believed the network could be an effective tool and not
necessarily an "elitist" approach to religion.

The use of a sophisticated media like the Internet could
strengthen that elitism, but it could also eliminate it because
it cuts distance. "Proximity is essential to propagation," he
said.

Jalaluddin Rakhmat, a leader of the Muthahari Pesantren (a
traditional Moslem boarding school), said everyone should support
MuslimNet, which should aim to provide accurate information to
Moslems.

Dawam Rahardjo of the Association of Indonesian Moslem
Intellectuals said Internet facilities should be made available
to a wider audience in Indonesia, particularly the pesantren.

He said that the MuslimNet must seek the participation of
religious experts to provide home page information. (har/17/emb)