Consumer rights remain a dream

Consumer rights remain a dream

The Indonesian Consumers Organization (YLKI) celebrates its
24th anniversary today with a fresh commitment to keep up its
aggressive stance in the interest of the people. Such a mission
puts the organization in the hot seat because to some extent, it
relies on a government subsidy. The Jakarta Post's team of
reporters, Rita A. Widiadana, I. Christianto, Dwiatmanta, Wirasti
Wiryono, Prapti Widinugraheni, Ida Indawati Khouw, Rachmat
Effendi, and Mulkan Salmona, take a close look at the
organization and consumers' problems in this story. More stories
on Page 3 and Page 11.

JAKARTA (JP): A whole-day blackout last month in many parts of
Java and Bali gives an important but bitter lesson that consumers
are powerless.

Calls of queries, grumbles and protests flooded the state-
owned electricity company PLN on that day but was anyone
satisfied with the answers given by the people at the other end
of the phone line?

Yet, even a modest answer was worth being thankful for because
most of the callers were disconnected or left on hold.

A company like PLN, which has a monopoly, has no trouble
fending off complaints without having to look at the principles
of justice. It expressed no guilty feelings. And consumers'
claims of losses running in the millions and billions of rupiah
as the results of the blackout went unheeded.

The latest effort to seek justice is being made by the
Indonesian Consumers Organization (YLKI), which received 100
complaints on the blackout. It recently filed a class action
against PLN and people are waiting eagerly for the court's
ruling.

YLKI's chairwoman, Tini Hadad, said that the class action was
important although the organization faces an uphill challenge
from the government.

"This is not a form of opposition to the government. We just
intend to improve public awareness about consumer rights," she
told the Post.

Can these this hard-fought efforts improve consumers'
awareness about their rights?

Tini said it was extremely difficult to teach local consumers
to be more critical about their rights to receive the best public
services.

"Many consumers are used to accepting irregularities. They are
not used to protesting," she told a seminar held recently in
conjunction with YLKI's anniversary celebration.

Tini said it was still very hard to take legal action against
a company due to the absence of a law on consumer protection.

The organization has struggled for the issuance of the law
since l980, when a draft on consumer protection was first
submitted. The House of Representatives welcomed the draft
enthusiastically but no action was taken then.

In its efforts to improve consumers' awareness about their
rights, YLKI has also cooperated with private sectors, which
organize regular discussions where consumers take an active part.
Several companies, including domestic airliner Merpati Nusantara,
gave positive responses.

"Such discussion would also generate input we could use,"
Merpati spokesman, Tondo Widodo, said.

Improving the public's awareness about its rights as consumers
and protecting them are the mission of YLKI.

Tini said YLKI is currently focusing on advocacy to raise
consumers' awareness about their rights, its most significant
move over the past five years. Previously, it was more involved
in consumer information and education. In the next five years the
YLKI is to face more sophisticated challenges, including the
consumers' right to information, she said.

Good relations

Tini said the organization maintains good relations with the
government, private sector and mass media. The organization is
also actively involved with government agencies, including the
Ministry of Health.

Between 15 percent and 20 percent of its budget comes from the
government and private companies.

Tini said the organization, with a staff of 30 and a limited
budget of about Rp 500 million (US$205,000) a year, uses the
approach to work with, rather than fight against, the government
because policymakers offer input concerning the public domain
despite the presence of related consumer organizations, whether
affiliated or not.

She said the organization's voice is small in the public
domain, with the lower to middle classes lacking awareness about
the organization, while its presence among the upper classes was
met with indifference.

Henky Solaiman is among many consumers who claim they are
reluctant to lodge a complaint with YLKI when unsatisfied with
certain products or services.

"I have no time to file a complaint with the organization
because it takes time and lengthy procedures," he told the Post.

According to Tini, consumer complaints come in daily. The
organization has handled 158 cases over the past three months,
with 70 percent of cases awarding consumers some compensation.
But the actual compensation amounts for damages are not
comparable to the amounts requested originally, she said.

"Businesses do not benefit from these practices and poor
standards, which could prevent them from gaining access to
overseas markets," she said.

Erna Witoelar, president of Consumers International (CI),
underlined the need for a consumer protection law to increase
consumer awareness.

She shared Tini's idea that local consumers' awareness is
relatively lower than that of some neighboring countries.

Witoelar, who chaired YLKI from 1986 to 1989, said the
government and private sectors have the responsibility to improve
customers' awareness.

She pointed out that, in general, more wary consumers are
needed to create a good economic system in a country, adding that
more critical consumers are a good element to boost
competitiveness in the production sector.

"I strongly believe that one reason for the lack of
competitiveness of Indonesian products abroad is the lack of
consumer protection and critical awareness in our country."