Can NGOs achieve their destiny?<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Achmad Baskara, 29, an employee of a Jakartan
\npublic relation consultancy, channels his socio-political
\nconcerns through two NGOs, which he and friends finance
\nthemselves. One NGO is named \"Indonesia of the year 2000\", a
\nstudy group, he boasts, aimed to prepare Indonesia for democracy
\nafter Soeharto's presidency.<\/p>\n
He was a student demonstrator, an activist in a youth
\npolitical organization called GMNI, but left because \"it was
\nalready co-opted by the government\".<\/p>\n
\"The NGO is only a means. Once it is co-opted by the
\ngovernment, I'll leave it for another means to channel my
\nidealism,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The future of Indonesian NGOs? What a question! For several
\ndecades they have influenced the Indonesian economic, cultural
\nand socio-political life and lured many youngsters -- many of
\nwhom are the brightest and the most concerned about disadvantaged
\npeople in the development process -- into agents of change. They
\nhave also bewildered the government.<\/p>\n
To some people, the youths are heroes reminiscent of the
\nfounding fathers who at the same tender age were prepared to risk
\ntheir lives for Indonesian independence. Others dismiss them as
\nsuppliers of the philanthropy and political interests of
\nwesterners.<\/p>\n
Sociologist Kastorius Sinaga states in his newly published
\nbook, NGOs in Indonesia, the growth of NGOs during the New Order
\nera is a result of the failure of the state and market in
\nhandling poverty, human rights, the ecology and gender equality.
\nThis is coupled by the growing belief in western donor countries
\nof the ability of NGOs to cope with these issues.<\/p>\n
During the New Order era, he says, the military, bureaucracy
\nand business sectors colluded in amassing wealth for themselves.
\nDevelopment is oriented on GNP and economic growth, while the
\npublic are depoliticized in order to create stability -- a factor
\nseen as the prerequisite for development. As a result, the gap
\nbetween the poor and rich widens, leaving the poor no power to
\ndemand their rights.<\/p>\n
Former activists and leaders led NGOs into the fray with the
\nmission to empower the economic and political poor in the 1970s.
\nBy the 1980s, NGOs were flourishing. Today, there are an
\nestimated 11,000 of them, most unrecorded by the government. All
\nhave confrontational names in line with their spirited aims. The
\ngroups have memberships of between two and hundreds. Unclear of
\ntheir legal definition, the public and journalists simply define
\na NGO as any group founded by the public to address issues
\nneglected by the state and the economic situation.<\/p>\n
What matters surely most to all NGOs is money, with which they
\nstart and continue their activities. The resources come from
\nforeign donor agencies (given either for philanthropic or
\npolitical reasons), individual donations, membership dues,
\neconomic activities, and government subsidies. Kastorius' study
\nof 22 Indonesian NGOs found that the majority get money from
\nforeign donor countries, while other sources, like individual
\ndonations, are the main source of initial capital.<\/p>\n
\"Businesses here are reluctant to provide funds for the NGOs
\nbecause there is no incentive from the government like in the
\nwestern countries. There, donations to NGOs are rewarded with tax
\nreductions,\" explained Kastorius.<\/p>\n
The western pool of resources is reportedly easy to tap and
\nabuse. The system for checking projects by donor agencies is
\nweak, he said. They trust the Indonesian representatives who run
\nthe NGOs, in many cases completely relying on their
\nprofessionalism in making proposals. This provides ample room for
\ncertain NGOs, among others, to obtain \"double financing\" by
\nsubmitting one proposal to several donor agencies. Since donor
\nagencies don't usually communicate with each other they aren't
\naware of the cheat.<\/p>\n
Said Dhiane, a 24-year-old member of an NGO, commented \"Some
\npeople's view that NGOs sell the country's poverty abroad is in
\nsome cases true. I have seen some people do it and the donation
\nended up in their pockets.\"<\/p>\n
However financial backing by western countries remains
\nuncertain because donors can drop their Indonesian recipients
\nanytime they wish. Therefore some NGOs early on began to
\nseriously think about ways to survive on their own. Some have
\nmanaged by starting businesses and cooperating with the
\ngovernment, from which they hope to get projects. The NGOs'
\nbusiness interests focus on their traditional target groups --
\nthe poor and the disadvantaged.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon is greeted with some cynicism.<\/p>\n
\"What we are seeing now is the birth of a new industry -- the
\nsocial development industry. In the western countries, the
\nbusiness community sets up the non-profit making NGOs. Here, in
\ncontrast, NGOs set up profit making companies,\" commented an
\nobserver who asked for anonymity.<\/p>\n
Until recently the government was antipathetic towards NGOs,
\noverlooking the fact that many development oriented NGOs were
\nwilling to cooperate with it to eliminate poverty. Dr. Adi
\nSasongko, chairman of the Kusuma Buana Foundation, an NGO dealing
\nwith community-based health projects, says things are changing.<\/p>\n
\"The government is now starting to embrace NGOs to become its
\npartner, involving them in various joint projects as well as in
\npolicy making. It's a good start,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The advocacy oriented NGOs, which make up about 10 percent of
\nthe total, are still beyond the governments reach, according to
\nKastorius. These groups trouble the government by their protests
\nover injustices and their campaigns for democracy, human rights
\nand labor rights. In the past, the government attempted to
\nsilence them with legalities and threats of imprisonment. Today
\nit has a new tactic -- winning-over enemies as shown by the
\nformation of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas
\nHAM), which has been able to somewhat eclipse the Legal Aid
\nFoundation's monopoly of the human rights issue.<\/p>\n
\"The advocacy groups that will survive in the future are those
\ninvolved in the issues of labor rights and gender. The government
\nwill pay too much if it tries to win these issues too,\" said
\nKastorius.<\/p>\n
Many still believe in NGOs. Among them is Ben Fisher, head of
\nthe Environment and Social Impact Unit of the World Bank in
\nIndonesia. He said,\"(The World Bank) emphasizes the importance of
\ncommunity participation in development. This includes the
\nparticipation of the private sector. And it includes
\nparticipation by the public itself as individuals and as members
\nof groups concerned with development.\"<\/p>\n
But what will happen in the future? Will Achmad's fear that
\nthe government will co-opt the NGOs come true? If so, where will
\nAchmad and his ilk go to channel their concerns? (jsk\/als\/raw)<\/p>",
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