List of legal organizations made public

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday made public the list of 738 mass organizations registered with the government, stressing that those not on the list are illegal.

The government decided to make the list available to the public so that people would know which ones are legal and which ones are illegal.

Director General for Social and Political Affairs Soetoyo N.K., who distributed the list to the press yesterday, said many organizations that have made news in recent months are not on the list.

"For certain the SBSI and Darul Arqam are not there," Soetoyo said.

SBSI, the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union, has been contesting the government's policy of recognizing the All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) as the only organization allowed to represent workers in disputes with management.

SBSI executives have tried to register with the government on several occasions but were rejected in the absence of a recommendation from the Ministry of Manpower. The government however never publicly declared SBSI as an illegal organization.

Darul Arqam, a Moslem grouping with headquarters in Malaysia, has been the subject of a controversy with the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) demanding the government to bar their activities in Indonesia. Malaysia banned the group yesterday.

A 1985 legislation compels all organizations in Indonesia to register with the Ministry of Home Affairs and those who failed to do so are considered illegal.

Soetoyo said these organizations must also comply with a number of other procedures before they are fully registered.

Jurisdiction

Any unregistered organization has no right to carry out any activities, he said. "But we have no authority to arrest members of any prohibited organizations as it is outside our jurisdiction."

The ministry in the past has also rejected the registration of a number of organizations because they did not meet the criteria or they are too local and are not of national scale. In the case of the later, they do not have to register.

Of the 738 on the list, 298 are religious-based organizations, 43 are based on spiritual beliefs, 183 are based on similarity in professions, 95 based on resemblance of activities and 119 are based on objectives.

Among the organizations based on resemblance in activities include the Association of Flower-Arrangers, the Proclamation Proceeders Association and the Indonesian Dangdut Artists' Families Association. The list in the category of professional organizations include the Association of Soybean and Tempe Entrepreneurs and the Association of Ojek (bicycle or motorbike taxis) Drivers and Owners.

Soetoyo said his office monitors the activities of all the organizations and will take steps to rescind those which are no longer active. (pwn)