Flight from poverty<\/p>\n
If it was meant to be a wake up call, it failed to arouse even
\nthe slightest interest of the nation. A World Bank report about
\nthe state of poverty in Indonesia, and why it must be urgently
\naddressed, was not alarming enough to prompt us to act.<\/p>\n
That nearly 60 percent of the population -- or over 120
\nmillion people -- in this country are either very poor or are
\n\"near poor\" barely grabbed national attention. The report
\nreceived a brief mention, mostly only in passing, by some media,
\nas it was largely eclipsed by the political intricacies of the
\nAnnual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
The World Bank report was presented to the annual meeting of
\nthe Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), which brought together
\nthe country's major aid donor countries and lending agencies, in
\nJakarta. It picked poverty as the chief theme as the group
\ndiscussed Jakarta's aid needs for the coming year. When the CGI
\ndecided that Indonesia should get US$3.14 billion, the message
\nthat rampant poverty was undermining Indonesia's future either
\ngot lost, or was simply, and conveniently, ignored.<\/p>\n
The World Bank's message was strong enough for our donor
\ncountries and agencies to generously fork out more money, but
\napparently not for the recipient government to push poverty
\nalleviation to the forefront of the national agenda.<\/p>\n
The World Bank acknowledges that officially, Indonesia's
\npoverty rate fell in 2000, thanks to moderate economic recovery
\nand falling rice prices. By last year, \"only\" 15.2 percent of the
\npopulation, or 32 million people, as against 27 percent in 1999,
\nlived below the official poverty line, which is measured in terms
\nof a minimum calorie intake a person needs to subsist.<\/p>\n
The report however said that, using a more widely used
\ninternational measure, some 58 percent of the population, or 121
\nmillion people, lived on less than $2 a day. While most are not
\nnecessarily poor, they are very vulnerable. Another crisis, not
\nan unlikely prospect with the slowing down of the global economy,
\nwould quickly plunge them back into abject poverty, just as it
\ndid in 1998-1999, the report said.<\/p>\n
The World Bank stated that the sustainability of Indonesia's
\neconomic recovery hinged on the government's ability to lift more
\nof its people out of poverty. The report called for greater
\nefforts in ensuring access to basic services such as education
\nand health for the poor, and for the elimination of what it
\ncalled \"anti-poor\" government policies.<\/p>\n
Many people who have been quietly but actively working on the
\nfront line in the war against poverty could not agree more with
\nthe warnings of the grave consequences for Indonesia if it fails
\nto address the problem of poverty.<\/p>\n
There is the tremendous loss in terms of national
\nproductivity. There is the danger of Indonesia losing even a
\nsecond generation of children (everyone agrees the 1997-1999
\neconomic crisis had already cost the nation virtually an entire
\ngeneration). There is the threat of the nation falling further
\nbehind in the increasingly competitive global economy; and since
\npoverty breeds crime, there is the threat to security, and
\nconsequently the threat of a break down of law and order. This in
\nturn will deter investors from coming to Indonesia. Thus,
\nIndonesia could be condemned to a vicious cycle of poverty.<\/p>\n
Poverty has never been a favorite topic for this nation. It is
\nsomething that we would rather not talk about. The last time
\npoverty became a major national issue was in 1998 at the height
\nof the economic crisis. And that was chiefly for the wrong
\nreason.<\/p>\n
Donations poured in from outside Indonesia as expressions of
\nsympathy for the plight of the poor. But for most people in the
\ngovernment, poverty was seen more as a \"project\", an opportunity
\nto enrich themselves, than a problem. Projects entailed fat
\ncommissions and generous expenses for those handling the money.
\nMoney donated for the government's social safety net programs,
\nintended to cushion the poor from the impact of the crisis, was
\nheavily \"taxed\" by the handlers before it reached the intended
\nrecipients.<\/p>\n
Corruption remains a major concern in Indonesia today to the
\npoint that the CGI has attached strings to part of its $3.14
\nbillion aid: Its disbursement is subject to the government
\nshowing progress on both poverty and corruption fronts.<\/p>\n
Since it is clear that the survival of this nation is at
\nstake, we can no longer afford to ignore the problem of poverty.
\nThere can be no other agenda more important to Indonesia today
\nthan tackling poverty. But we can only do that if we admit that
\nwe have a problem, a grave one, in hand. It is time our nation
\nstarted owning up to the problem and taking care of our poor.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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