To be well spoken

The emergence of a free press following the downfall of the Soeharto regime enables political scientists, observers and politicians to give political information and education to all layers of the community, a condition formally considered taboo. Everything of what the scientists or observers or politicians have said, either critical, permissive, rational or irrational, serves as a daily menu for discussion among the general public. Hard to understand, however, are those comments or opinions emanating from some of the political elites.

Several months before the general election, a noted politician said that Megawati would not be a suitable president because she was too fat and consequently could not move swiftly. That such an opinion came from someone with a doctor's degree is really beyond comprehension. Recently, another noted politician who has a doctor's degree ridiculed his rival for not being able to speak English well. The exact words he used were: amburradul and grothal-grathul (something like pigeon English or broken English).

In other Asian countries like Japan, Korea and China, public figures never show off their good command of foreign languages before the public. Statesmen from those countries always use interpreters to communicate with their foreign counterparts to show their high sense of nationalism. The same noted politician, echoed by amateurish young would-be politicians, also questioned whether Megawati's speech was really prepared by herself. Among the general public, it is common knowledge that even former president Sukarno, a born orator and statesman of international repute, had his team of speech writers. So did former president Soeharto as well as other heads of state.

Mastering a language is a useful asset, but mastering one's own national language is a must. Regretfully, the bureaucrats who should set a good example to the public in using good and correct Indonesian when speaking in public do not meet people's expectations. The superfluous and random use of the simple word daripada by a lot of bureaucrats on every occasion is one piece of proof of their sheer ignorance. It is actually a shame to see that foreigners like Jeffrey A. Winters, Daniel S. Lev and Harold Crouch can speak better Indonesian than some of our bureaucrats, as demonstrated during their interviews given in flawless Indonesian.

Why are a number of people so proud because of their good command of a foreign language, while on the contrary a lot of them fail to use their own language well? This is hard to fathom.

During the electoral campaign period, one political party chairman promised to the Chinese ethnic minority that if he became the president of Indonesia, he would allow the Chinese language to be taught in schools.

Considering his inconsistency and unpredictability in his dealings with other political figures after signing the Ciganjur declaration, and also his dubious stance in upholding his party as an open and nationalistic one, people are now wondering whether all his promises will not merely remain a dream of the past.

For those who share my opinion, let me quote a beautiful catchphrase: A leader is born, not made.

HARRY PRAYOGO

Surabaya