Indonesian civil society sidelined from policy making

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."