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)