NGOs not established to oppose government
NGOs not established to oppose government
By Imanuddin
BOGOR, West Java (JP): They're growing in strength, in visibility and now they are getting more vocal.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become the biggest critics of the government. In the case of Indonesia, they are seen as more effective than the opposition parties in influencing public opinion, and sometimes policy decision-making processes.
But Indonesian NGO leaders are quick to point out that they are not the political opposition. They have no intention of becoming one. It's just the nature of their work that sometimes, or very often, they have to speak out against the government.
With the increasing demand for greater democratization and more justice at a time when government is becoming more powerful -- situations generally found worldwide -- the role of the NGOs will become even greater. Human rights, labor rights, anti- nuclear movements and the protection of indigenous people and the environment are just some of the main issues preoccupying NGOs.
Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, chairman of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy, said NGOs in Indonesia have been growing in line with the people's increasing awareness of their rights and their desire for justice.
"NGOs in Indonesia were not established to oppose the government. We only criticize government policies that are contradictory to the laws," Abdul Hakim, who once chaired the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), told The Jakarta Post.
"NGOs are also not out to overthrow the government," he added.
Abdul Hakim was one of more than the 50 Indonesian NGO leaders that recently gathered at the Kinasih Guesthouse in Caringin to discuss the role of their organizations and how to sustain themselves.
The cool temperature in the resort town of Caringin helped to temper the atmosphere, particularly on heated subjects like human rights.
Abdul Hakim said NGOs came into prominence in Indonesia more by accident than by design.
The Legal Aid Institute of YLBHI, for example, was compelled to stand behind the thousands of Kedung Ombo villagers in Central Java when the government appropriated their land to make way for a huge reservoir. The institute is still representing dozens of the villagers fighting for better government compensation. The displacement of Kedung Ombo villagers became one of the most controversial issues in the 1980s, pitting the government against the NGOs.
It was also a land conflict that spurred the establishment of the Alpha Omega Foundation in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, which tried to defend the villagers. "Some local businessmen, with the support of the local administration, were procuring the land at ridiculously low prices," Yones Pellokila of the foundation told The Post.
Boedhi Wijardjo of the Bela Banua Puti Jaji Institute in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, said his organization came into being to defend the indigenous Dayak people.
"We established the institute after finding that the indigenous people were always getting blamed for the deforestation of Kalimantan," Boedhi said.
Abdul Hakim believes that some NGOs have earned the reputation of being government opponents because they generally side with the people in government disputes.
He stressed, however, that differences should be respected in democracy.
He asked: "Is there anything wrong with the people having different opinions than the government on certain issues? Debate and criticism are not destructive, are they?"
Asmara Nababan, chairman of the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, said there would be little or no use for NGOs if everyone played by the rules.
He cited as an example the government's minimum wage regulation.
If companies complied there would be no dispute. And if the All Indonesian Workers Union were more effective in defending its members, there would be no need for a second union like the SBSI (Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union).
Nababan, who is also a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, said NGOs will not disappear as there will always be imperfections and weaknesses in the government and its policies.
The activists interviewed said they believe that NGOs will remain independent as most of their operational expenses are covered by foreign funds.
"Indonesia receives foreign aid every year, but it is still independent, isn't it?" Abdul Hakim said, adding that the same principle holds true for NGOs.
"We remain independent in our ideas and practices," Nababan affirmed.
"We are only required to make periodic reports to the donor agencies on how their project funds have been used," Boedhi said.