Rumor, rumor everyday

Lately there has been practically no day without a rumor. Rumors, experts tell us, will flourish where people have lost all credible sources of information. In this kind of situation, rumors, the whispered word and intrigues will be all the more powerful. The situation in which we have been living lately demonstrates the power of rumors.

What is transpiring in our society these days is an expression of the clash of statements and the public's reactions to them. Whatever the government says, the (public's) reaction contradicts the statement. Negation is the public's response to practically everything that smells of an official statement.

We must be honest and admit that what is known as a crisis of confidence has begun to affect our society. People have lost their faith in statements. People do not believe the press, an institution whose life depends on the trading of information.

What could be the reason for all this? We have for too long lived in a climate which lacks transparency. We have grown into a nation that lacks honesty with regard to our use of language. We have come to realize that the euphemisms that we initially used to refine our speech have gradually led to misstatements.

Development has produced educated and rational-thinking Indonesians. These people thirst for honesty in the use of speech because of the transparency which this brings. To be honest, the political environment which now dominates the dynamics of this nation's existence is too shrouded in riddles. Too few issues in our political process are predictable.

Rumors cannot be countered with statements. What needs to be done is to give credibility to numerous institutions. One means to do this is by using honest speech. As long as truth and power are monopolized by only a few, a crisis of confidence will prevail and rumors will continue to flourish.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta