Stuck in a crisis of communication

Stuck in a crisis of communication

Political analyst J.Soedjati Djiwandono looks at yet another
dimension of the crisis, which is further isolating the
President.

JAKARTA (JP): There is definitely another dimension of the
multifaceted crisis that has made a major contribution to the
political stalemate. This is the breakdown of communication. It
applies above all to communication among the political elite.

Let me begin with the most obvious. Because of his loss of
sight, President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's impression of and
reaction to whatever happens around him at a given moment must be
very much shaped and influenced by the reliability and
trustworthiness of those who do see and report to him. His
judgment or assessment of people will of necessity depend on
those who read reports, newspapers, letters and whatever written
materials he would otherwise need to read or see himself.

Unfortunately, from the President's own perspective, his team
of spokesmen does not seem to perform well, and on occasions one
gets the impression that they would offer their own
interpretations of the President's views and thoughts. It is not
unlikely that they themselves misunderstand his remarks and
statements.

Yet when reports in the media do not please the President, he
either denies such reports or blames the media for twisting his
remarks and statements. The people would then get confused as to
what is news and what is rumor, what is true and what is untrue.

Indeed, transparency is scarce in this era of reform under Gus
Dur's presidency. Direct communication seems also to have broken
down between the President and the Vice President, who for a long
time has tended to keep silent.

Silence is not always golden. There is a Russian saying that
"silence means agreement". But for VP Megawati Soekarnoputri,
silence may well mean "no comment", "no view nor position", "I
don't agree", or "I don't know". It may mean anything. What a
contrast with her father, the late president Sukarno, the great
demagogue.

The result, however, is the same: people get confused and
frustrated. And many also tend to blame the media for distorting
information. While I do abhor the lousy, unsophisticated language
of many Indonesian reporters, I sympathize with them, not only
for their poor performance, but also for being held responsible
for the confusing and chaotic conditions not entirely and not
always of their own making.

Joseph Stalin was also known to be a man of silence. But his
was a deep sense of knowing exactly when to speak effectively. He
was a good and intelligent listener.

There is a similarity and also a contrast between former
president Soeharto and Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia in
respect to communication. Both seem to be prone to keep everybody
guessing. But while Soeharto did that, and perhaps still does
now, by always smiling without saying much, Sihanouk used to do
that -- perhaps now no longer does -- not only by smiling a lot,
but also by talking a lot, if not necessarily saying much.

In the United States, president Lincoln was well known for his
wit, so was Thomas Jefferson; president Truman for his plain
speaking; John F. Kennedy for his rhetoric, perhaps also
president Franklin Roosevelt. But president Ronald Reagan was
famous as a great communicator, although perhaps not as great and
flowery as the late prime minister Winston Churchill of Great
Britain.

Back to this crisis-stricken country: President Abdurrahman
has accused his opponents of having blocked the way to a
compromise. But what has he offered, particularly for his "win-
win solution"? Everyone has talked about a possible political
compromise, but none has offered anything for a start. My guess
was probably right, after all, that when offering a compromise,
Indonesians tend to take first before giving anything away; hence
their reference to the principle of "take and give" instead of
"give and take".

Instead of offering or conceding anything concrete to initiate
a step toward a real compromise, President Abdurrahman has been
threatening and bluffing, making more enemies and further
alienating friends and supporters. He seems to have alienated the
National Awakening Party (PKB), so far his most loyal and staunch
supporters, his main power base, seemingly by rarely, if ever,
consulting its leaders. He seems to have managed only to isolate
himself.

If even the PKB seems to have distanced itself from him, as
reflected in a remark recently made by its chairman Matori Abdul
Djalil, on the issue of a possible decree on a state of
emergency, Abdurrahman should realize that his days as President
may now be numbered. The special session of the People's
Consultative Assembly should impeach him not on the wrong basis
of motions of censure I and II issued by the legislature, but on
his general incompetence in governing the country.

However, what difference would that make now, anyway? Time is
pressing and pressure is mounting. Yet, a last minute political
compromise remains possible despite the imminent and now
seemingly irreversible MPR special session, if only the President
should show, for once, his honesty, modesty and humility. He
should not only open wide the door to communication, but also
drastically change his style of communication.

Indeed, he would be the first man to make sacrifices for the
sake of the nation, instead of sacrificing everything and
everyone, above all the people, to save his own personal pride as
well as to pursue grandeur, power and glory.

Only a great leader knows when to step down. We all count on
you, Gus!