Indonesian civil society sidelined from policy making

Endy M. Bayuni, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Civil society organizations in Indonesia, considered pillars of democracy, are in disarray, and as a result are missing out on a chance to fully participate in the policy-making process in the country, according to a leading civil society figure.

Azyumardi Azra, rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta stated during a conference that the democratization process of the last seven years in Indonesia had created a lot of room for civil society organizations to influence policy makers with regard to decisions that are relevant to the public at large.

"Unfortunately, most civil society organizations are disoriented and have become too politicized to be able to perform the role effectively," Azyumardi said in a two-day conference to discuss how policies are made in a newly democratic Indonesia organized by the United Nations Support Facility for Indonesian Recovery (UNSFIR).

Civil society groups play an important role in a democracy, especially in mediating and bridging between the interests of the state and the people. Many civil society groups that rode in the back of the prodemocracy movement that led to the collapse of the Soeharto regime in 1998 appear to have lost their edge precisely at a time when the country is moving toward full democracy.

Azyumardi attributed this "unmaking of civil society" to inherent problems within these organizations.

He said many civil society and advocacy groups, for example, tended to be elitist with little grassroots support, were undemocratically run, while many were still dependent on foreign funding that raises questions about their credibility.

Mass-based civil society organizations have seen themselves dragged into the country's political power plays, and have either established their own political parties or become too closely linked with one; while many of their leaders have found it too hard to resist the allure of themselves becoming politicians.

The third major group in civil society are professional associations, and they are not faring any better than the others, he said.

Azyumardi noted that Bina Desa and Walhi, two prominent advocacy groups on environmental issues, are currently planning to set up their own political parties.

He emphasized the need for civil society organizations to consolidate and strengthen their networks and strengthen their political leverage so they could play their role in democracy more effectively.

The UNSFIR conference, which was opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday, brought in high-profile speakers, including several Cabinet ministers, to look at the weaknesses of the current policy-making process in Indonesia and find ways of improving the system.

While Indonesia has made the transition to a fully fledged democracy through democratic elections, the country has yet to figure out how policies should be formulated that involve widespread participation, but are still efficient and timely.

Under President Soeharto, his words became law or policy in the absence of democracy. Now the rules have been changed, especially after the series of amendments in recent years to the 1945 Constitution, many of which disperse power between the president, the House of Representatives and other players.

President Susilo, in his keynote remark opening the conference, said that while he had made some snap decisions when the situation called for it, generally, he had to observe the democratic consultation process with other state institutions and players.

UNSFIR Chief Advisor Satish Mishra in his discussion paper distributed at the conference said that in spite of its importance, the issue of policy-making processes had been largely ignored in Indonesia.

"For democracy to consolidate, there has to be a complete overhaul of the political culture," he says.

He emphasized the need to build political legitimacy as a "process to build public trust on the entire structure of democratic institutions, so that the public is confident and are willing to participate in the political processes."