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)