Politicians are public relation officers for themselves and their political parties. They would maintain this role even after they have been appointed or elected to public offices.One of the politicians in the cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) who maintain such role is Minister of Communication & Information Tifatul Sembiring .
Tifatul was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, on 28 September 1961, he is a Computer Engineer, and before he became a minister, he was the President of Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS).
The media has been reporting lots of things about him, among others that he is an on-line activist, practiced polygamy, doesn’t want to shake hands with women and thinks that the natural disasters in Indonesia were caused by immorality of its people, which sparks protests. In reaction to the protests in Twitter, Tifatul gave a prize: mobile phone to the best protester i.e. who described PKS as Nazi and Tifatul as Joseph Goebbels but was turned down.
For details, please click here, here, here, here and here.
Considering the above, I hope that as Minister of Communication & Information Tifatul Sembiring would give full priority to the best interests of the Indonesian people based on the principle of unity in diversity.
8 comments:
I hope you get your wish Harry and this minister acts responsibly but my reaction is to flinch and feel embarrassed for Indonesia on this.
Duckham,
I want to be positive and believe that everyone should be given time and chances to perform.
Wows.. it's my idol.. I hope setelah jadi mentri semoga idealismenya gak luntur..
Saung Web,
Each and every one of us has our own idol.
So far its just a lot of talk from the good minister. We will just have to wait and see what kind of administrator he turns out. He certainly has made any new friends with his recent comments.
Lets revisit in a year or so.
Harry...
Just a question in series. Polygamy is not illegal in Indonesia, culturally it is still acceptable that men and women do not touch in public spaces (and this would include shaking hands, would it not?), and whether one agrees or disagrees with Sembiring's views on immorality and national disasters, they are views he is permitted to hold, right?
Polygamy is not to my taste. I think shaking hands is a sign of respect and a common courtesy. And, I am not one for attributing natural disasters to a vengeful God.
That said, none of Sembiring's actions are all that surprising to me.
Yes, with a bit of luck his future actions will be consistent with the unity in diversity principles espoused in Pancasila and the Constitution :D
Pj,
Yes, let's give him a chance and hope that he'll improve during that time.
Rob,
As an ordinary citizen he may practice polygamy, refuse to shake hands with woman and talk about superstition.
But a minister should not be just an ordinary citizen because he has special rights & responsibilities. Therefore he should be a model for citizens of a country that is based on unity in diversity principle adopted by Pancasila and Constitution.
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