Students advised to prepare for globalization

Students advised to prepare for globalization

By Achmad Nurhoeri

DEPOK, West Java (JP): Indonesian university students must be
able to grasp and interpret rapid world change in order to
safeguard the nation from the pitfalls of globalization, several
academics said over the weekend.

"If students cannot interpret cultural changes, they will
leave this nation bewildered by globalization," Dorodjatun
Kuntjoro-Jakti, the dean of the School of Economics of the
University of Indonesia, said at a seminar on Saturday.

"Remember, the only thing that is permanent is change itself.
If you do not know how the latest technology works, you are below
American high school students who are familiar with it,"
Dorodjatun said.

The seminar on the relations between globalization and campus
life was held to mark the School of Economics' 45th anniversary.
Political scientist Juwono Sudarsono also addressed the forum.

Globalization is bringing down barriers created by time and
distance, Dorodjatun said."We are now entering the global village
where technology will be a new kind of imperialism."

He expressed concern with the poor image of contemporary
Indonesian intellectuals.

"Today's intellectuals are in stagnation. They only quote
foreign opinions without giving out their own solutions," he
said. "The main problem we are facing today is how to bridge our
culture with global culture without losing our dignity."

Dorodjatun reminded the students that they have "accidentally"
become part of the nation's elite. "Only five percent of
Indonesia's population has the privilege to go to university," he
said, adding the nation has high expectations in return.

Juwono, the former dean of the university's School of Social
and Political Studies and now vice chairman of the National
Resilience Institute, underlined the responsibility that
university students shoulder.

"You are members of the society's creme de la creme. The
nation's future is in the hands of this group," he said.

Juwono made a frightening comparison between today's
intellectual community in Indonesia and the intellectuals in the
Soviet Union just before its demise.

"Soviet Union collapsed at the time their leaders and
intellectuals became more and more disloyal to the people. They
lived like capitalists while the people rotted," he said. "What
happened in the USSR in 1991 could happen here in Indonesia ..
There is a tendency especially when you observe that the reality
is going further away from the Pancasila ideology."

Dorodjatun said the future intellectuals of Indonesia must
reject the distortions found in politics and the economy.

"If we remain indifferent to these (distortions), our values
will be eroded," he said. "If that happens, we will not know what
is wrong and what is right."

Simply put, Dorodjatun said, "If you let corruption continue,
you will end up in a corrupt society."

Juwono said students must strive to improve their so far poor
ability to express and communicate their ideas.

"We are way behind in making presentations. Our education
system does not teach students how to present their views
properly," he said.

He recalled that an Indonesian student sent on an assignment
to the United States once "wet himself" because he was asked to
make a presentation before an audience.

Saturday's seminar was one of the various activities held to
mark the anniversary of the highly prestigious School of
Economics, which has supplied many of the past and present
cabinet ministers. Of the current top officials who are alumni of
the school are Minister of Finance Marie Muhammad and Minister of
Trade B.S Joedono.