Free no longer
Free no longer
It won't be long now before water, that natural element on
which all life on earth depends and which occurs in such great
abundance in Indonesia, will cease to be a free commodity. Many
concerned citizens fear that the passage by the House of
Representatives of the bill on water resources into law last
Thursday will turn water into a tradable commodity, just like,
say, electricity or textiles, or any other commodity that is sold
for profit.
The critics also argue that the new law is in conflict with
the Constitution, which under Section 3, Article 33, stipulates
that "land and water and all the natural riches that are
contained within are controlled by the state and used for the
greater benefit of the people." This is why environmental
organizations such as the Indonesian Forum for the Environment
(Walhi) have in the past months been intensely campaigning for
the rejection of the bill by the national legislature.
The government and legislators, for their part, have sought to
assuage those fears by stating that the law can always be amended
at a later date. They also argue that any provisions that are
considered contrary to the people's interests can be honed to
better serve the public by inserting the necessary provisions in
governmental decrees or accompanying regulations that are
required to implement the law.
Whatever is the case, with the passage of the bill already a
reality last Thursday, it now only requires President Megawati
Soekarnoputri to sign the bill into law -- or, should she refuse
to do so for whatever reason -- after 30 days have elapsed the
bill will automatically become law.
A potentially momentous decision has thus been taken that
could adversely affect the lives of millions. Pathetically, all
the agitation over what the detractors refer to as the
commercialization, or privatization, of water, appears to have
passed by those who stand to lose the most -- the farmer and
peasant population who make up an estimated 70 percent to 80
percent of the country's total population -- without making so
much as a stir.
In all this, it seems that not many Indonesians have heeded
the fact that even at present, three foreign companies are
already engaged in the business of water resource management in
Indonesia. Those are Thames Water and Biwater of Britain, and
Suez-Lyonnaise and Vivendi, of France -- all of whom, however,
are operating in urban areas.
For the critics of the water bill passed by the House of
Representatives last week, however, the concern is focused mainly
not on urban Indonesia, but on the needs and the fate of the
millions of people in the rural areas who rely on water not only
for their household needs, but for irrigation as well, consuming
a much larger quantity of water. This is where the crucial test
of the bill's merits or demerits will eventually take place.
In an attempt to appease critics, legislator A.M. Fatwa, who
chaired the House meeting that endorsed the draft last Thursday,
said that "Nothing is set in stone. We have a Constitutional
Court to go to and we can always amend the bill." Only time will
tell whether Indonesians can seek comfort in those words.