Mutual assistance

Mutual assistance

From Merdeka

The monetary turmoil now hitting a number of countries,
including Indonesia, have wide repercussions and have affected
the prices of daily necessities. In an effort to overcome these
problems, the Malaysian and Thai governments have slashed the
salaries of high-ranking government officials.

Indonesia upholds a principle of mutual assistance which is
laid out in the state's ideology of Pancasila and the 1945
Constitution. This means that the capital for development must
come from the contributions of all citizens, irrespective of
their earnings and occupation.

If I am not mistaken, 124 million people were eligible to vote
in the 1997 general election. Let's say that 100 million of these
people have an income. If they contributed Rp 1,000 each every
month, the capital accumulated in a month would be 100 million x
Rp 1,000 = Rp 100 billion. If the monthly contribution fee was Rp
5,000 each, Rp 500 billion could be collected every month.

Such contribution fees could be collected, for example,
through neighborhood communities or at workplaces. An
organization could then be established to manage the funds. It
could be called the Citizen Owned Business Undertaking.

If it was honestly managed, this business undertaking could be
developed jointly with the government, businesspeople and
scientists, with the support of the community. With God's
blessing, the organization could provide free schooling to
children eligible for the government's nine-year basic education
program and grant scholarships to excellent students.

If the earnings of community members increased, the
contribution fees could be raised as well so that other sectors
could be helped such as electricity, interisland transportation,
information and telecommunications, rural cooperatives, small
businesses and social welfare.

SOEMANTO DWIDJOLEKSONO

Surakarta, Central Java