Revision plan on foundations law hailed

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Large social organizations supported the government's plan to revise the controversial law on groups and foundations, saying that the law was too "restrictive."

The Muhammadiyah and Atma Jaya Foundations said that they needed certain flexibility in carrying out their social and humanitarian tasks.

Muhammadiyah is the second largest Muslim organization in the country, claiming to have 30 million members. Muhammadiyah has more than 300 foundations throughout Indonesia, which operate in the fields of education, religion and health.

The Atma Jaya Foundation is a Jakarta-based Catholic foundation with a staff of 1,300. And like Muhammadiyah, it runs several foundations in the area of education, religion and health.

Haedar Nashir, executive secretary of the Muhammadiyah Central Board, described the new law (takes effect on Aug. 6) as giving too much room for the government to intervene into the affairs of foundations.

"We are afraid that the law is turning the clock back to the New Order period," he told The Jakarta Post, referring to the era of the previous authoritarian president Soeharto regime.

Critics also said that the law on foundations was a serious obstacle to the development of other foundations with a true social mission.

"There is too much intervention from the government, which makes foundations less flexible," said R. Djokopranoto, chairman of the Atma Jaya Foundation.

One of the most heavily criticized parts of the law was an article stipulating that managers of foundations could face criminal charges if they caused financial losses to the foundation.

"The executives are barred from receiving a salary by the law, but in contrast they bear more responsibilities according to the law.

I am afraid, nobody will be willing to serve as executives, even including the social ones," Djokopranoto said.

Another disputed point is the requirement for foundations to obtain licenses from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights before going into operation.

Djokopranoto feared that it would not be an easy process to obtain the necessary license due to heavy bureaucracy in the country.

"There's no assurance that the registration process could proceed smoothly," said Djokopranoto, who feared that the registration process would be tarnished by bureaucratic corruption and extortion.