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)