NGOs call for government supervision

NGOs call for government supervision

JAKARTA (JP): Six non-government organizations urged the House
of Representatives yesterday to introduce legislation to regulate
their activities in the interests of clarity.

Representatives of the six NGOs made the request while meeting
with the House's Commission I to discuss their affairs.

Rasyid Emilly, the spokesman for the delegation, even
suggested that the proposed legislation give the government
control over the activities of the organizations.

"There is no consensus among the NGOs about how we should
conduct our activities. So, we need somebody to regulate our
activities and there's no better choice than the government for
the job," Rasyid told reporters after the hearing.

Rasyid said that his views, including his wish for government
regulation, reflected the sentiments of a majority of Indonesia's
NGOs. He added that there would not be more than 20 organizations
opposed to such legislation.

"Those are the big NGOs. The small NGOs like ours are willing
to cooperate with the government on regulating the NGOs," he
said.

"This is for the NGOs' own sake, because legislation would
give them legal certainty," he added.

Rasyid was present as a representative the Eksponen '66, a
socio-political NGO. The other five organizations which took part
in the hearing were Swadaya Masyarakat Jaya (politics), Bangun
Putra Bangsa (labor affairs), Ekanusa (environment), Dinamika
Pers (press affairs) and Bina Mandiri (rehabilitation of
prostitutes).

Separately, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation took issue
with Rasyid's estimate of the number of NGOs opposed to such
legislation.

"In Jakarta alone, there are more than 10 who are opposed to
the idea," the foundation's staff member Nugraha Katjasungkana
told the Jakarta Post. "There are a lot more outside the capital.

"As long as the executive branch in this country continues to
dominate the decision making process while the legislative branch
is weak and does not truly represent the people, a regulation
that restricts NGO is unnecessary. It would only restrict the
NGOs," he said.

More importantly, he said, there ought to be a consensus among
NGOs about whether or not there should be such legislation. He
added that calls for government regulation usually came from
organizations known in NGO circles as "GONGO" (government NGOs)
because of their close links with the government.

Members of Commission I were not enthusiastic about the
proposal for legislation regulating the activities of NGOs.

The ruling Golkar faction's Krissantono dismissed the issue as
being without urgency.

"It (legislation) would only limit the NGOs room for maneuver.
It is enough already if they just abide by the Pancasila ideology
and the 1945 Constitution," he said. "It would also cause a bad
image for the Indonesian government abroad," he added.

Currently, NGOs' activities are regulated by a decree of the
Minister of Home Affairs. They are also subject to the 1985 Law
on Mass Organizations.

Rasyid said there were about 11,000 NGOs in Indonesia but that
only about 4,000 of them were registered with the ministry.

The government brought up the idea of a presidential decree to
regulate NGOs last year, but dropped quickly dropped it in the
face of stiff opposition from powerful NGOs.

There has been concern in some official circles about the
growing visibility and influence of Indonesia's NGOs. However,
Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Wiranto said last month that
it was naive to label NGOs troublemakers, contending that they
performed useful services for society. (06)