NGOs born out of the nation's failures

NGOs in Indonesia, A Study of the Role of Non Governmental Organizations in the Development Process By Kastorius Sinaga Published by Verlag fuer Entwicklungspolitik Breitenbach GmbH, Saarbruecken for Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld, Germany, 1995 Edited by Prof. Dr. Hans-Dieter Evers, Prof. Dr. Guenther Schlee, Dr. Georg Stauth, and Dr. Helmut Buchholt 264 pages, DM 42.

JAKARTA (JP): The presence of so many non-governmental organizations in Indonesia has markedly colored the country's socio-political life for dozens of years. They have been involved either directly or indirectly in many big events throughout the New Order Administration when justice, human rights and the like were at stake. Some people gladly welcome them as an alternative to the current absence of conscientious bravery among the Indonesian public. Others, however, decry them as people with poisoned minds.

The acronym "NGO" has indeed been deeply implanted in the hearts and minds of Indonesian society, yet the public is still ignorant of a number of things about them. Few of the many books about the organizations thoroughly study their socio-political history or their present and future condition. Thanks to massive press coverage, their outer struggle is clear, but most people have no idea about their inner struggles.

Kastorius Sinaga's dissertation NGOs in Indonesia deserves a warm welcome for just this reason. With this book, Kastorius has unveiled that the seemingly strong faces of the NGOs to show that they are no less vulnerable than most of us in the current socio-political situation.

Kastorius opens his book by questioning the role and development of NGOs. And asking if it is aiding the poor people's movement or becoming "the long arm" of the powerful.

Since the early 1970s, Kastorius says, NGOs have mushroomed in the developing countries. The Club of Rome estimated in the 1980s that there were in excess of 60 million people in Asia, 25 million in Latin America and 12 million in Africa actively working in the NGOs. In Indonesia alone, he says, the government officially registered 3,251 organizations classed as NGOs in 1989, twice as many as in 1985.

The amoeba-like growth is the result of the disappointment felt by the activists and donor countries over the failure of the state and market in addressing issues like ecology, women, street children, human rights and the informal sector. Government and business concentrate on boosting GNP and economic growth at the expense these issues.

Kastorius says the history of NGOs in Indonesia started early this century -- although the term had not been coined yet -- when self-financed organizations like the educational organization Taman Siswa, the Islamic group of small traders Sarekat Islam and the Javanese cultural organization Budi Utomo were established to resist Dutch colonial rule. Today's NGOs, however, trace their roots more directly to the failure of the state and market during the New Order Administration.

Analysis

Kastorius analyses what has happened in Indonesia since the New Order Administration took power in the 1960s -- an analysis we are all too familiar with and are easily found in the works of western scholars. He says the government has purposely depoliticize the people, control all aspects of their life, in order to create the stability the government argues is necessary for development. Three strategic ruling groups in Indonesia -- the military, the bureaucracy, and the business community which is dominated by Indonesians of Chinese decent and the offspring of government officials -- have worked hand in hand to make the strategy work.

The result is a decline of political organizations and economic failure in the form of increased poverty. He quotes the World Bank as saying in 1986 only 12 percent of the total GNP was received by 40 percent of the population with the lowest income; 31,9 percent by 40 percent with moderate income and 55.9 percent by only 20 percent with highest income. According to the international standard, he says, if the lowest income group of 40 percent receives less than 12 percent of the total GNP, then economic inequality has reached a serious condition.

This why NGOs have flourished. The groups vary in historical background, methods and specific goals, but are usually set up by the urban middle class. Kastorius discusses three lengthy case- studies to prove his point.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), a big NGO, is politically orientated and was established by law professionals to help the poor with legal services. The Indonesian Credit Union Coordination Office (CUCO-1), also a large NGO, was formed by the Catholic Church to help the poor. The Annisa Swasti Foundation (YASANTI), a medium-sized NGO was set up by student in Yogyakarta to promote the role and consciousness of the weak women groups in the province.

To illuminate how the NGOs work in the field, Kastorius takes the World Bank financed irrigation dam in Kedung Ombo district, Central Java as an example. His description of how 30,000 people, mostly farmers, were forced to give up their land for the project and their futile resistance is graphic, touching and peppered with interesting sociological analyses. It is because of the orchestrated efforts of NGOs, led by YLBHI, that the case at last gained international attention, he says. Yet, the denouement of the affair illustrates that the NGOs exploited the farmer's case for their own benefit and the government's.

Kastorius then returns to the first question. Do the NGOs in Indonesia serve the interests of the poor or have they become the long arm of the government?

His answer is they all need legitimacy and access to the strategic resources in the government-led projects for their organizational survival. Their dependency on foreign aid, which is unpredictable, makes them vulnerable. This leads them to cooperate with the government, which attempts to co-opt them. In order to be professional, they become increasingly bureaucratic at the expense of closeness to their target group, the poor. They therefore seem to have lost their identity, Kastorius argues.

Unfortunately Kastorius is reluctant to speculate about the future of NGOs in Indonesia, only saying they will become "a permanent structure of strategic groups in the society". Readers are left wondering if the tendency means more bad than good in the future. Will the "new strategic groups" -- however wrong their tendency is -- place themselves as alternatives to the ruling groups in time of crisis? He could have found possible answers by comparing situations in other countries.

The book is written in readable English, though somewhat badly copy edited. The wide range of data he collects, his own interviews and heaps of information not released before makes the book very useful. This book is worthy of immediate translation in Indonesian.

-- Johannes Simbolon