Top officials lack will to communicate: Experts
Top officials lack will to communicate: Experts
JAKARTA (JP): Many senior ranking government officials not
only lack skills to communicate with the public but also lack the
will to do so, leading to a sporadic flow of public information,
communication experts have said.
Famed television talk show host Wimar Witoelar, who is known
for in-depth interviews with prominent individuals, told The
Jakarta Post yesterday that a lack of skill was only half the
problem.
When asked to comment on a statement by the head of the
Association of Indonesian Communication Graduates (ISKI), Teddy
Kharsadi, that officials lacked communication skills, Wimar
pointed out that officials generally had no desire to divulge
public information due to hidden motives.
After meeting with Minister of Information Muhammad Alwi
Dahlan on Wednesday, Teddy said many Indonesians, especially
those in senior positions, generally lacked adequate
communication skills and thus tended to shy away from journalists
seeking public information.
Teddy said both senior government officials and private
executives needed to polish their communication skills to allow
for a better interaction with the public.
"There's a tendency for them to avoid the press," Teddy said
as quoted by Antara.
"If they had a sufficient grasp of both the substance of the
matter and solid communication skills, that person would know
what can or cannot be divulged."
Wimar agreed with the association's observation, but added
that it was also a lack of will from many government officials
that caused the "miscommunication".
"Hidden individual motives to avoid public scrutiny of their
own vested interests or those of the status quo are the reasons,"
said Wimar who is noted for his shrewd political observations.
Wimar maintained that many powerful officials lacked decent
oratory or even basic public communication skills, but that it
was the lack of desire to communicate that was at the core of the
problem.
"So on the highest level, communication skills are not the
issue. It's the lack of a political will to communicate with the
people," Wimar pointed out, citing for example the student
protests which have been pushing for sweeping reforms.
He described the current "stand off" between the government
and students as nothing more than a deficiency of will to
communicate.
"This means that on the one hand, the government doesn't want
to talk, only maintaining that the people do what they are told
to, while sending mixed signals concerning reforms.
"While on the other hand, the people want to say what they
want to say about reforms," he said. (aan)