Setting an example

Setting an example

The coming month of August is likely to remain in the memory of the fishermen and their families who live in Muara Angke on the Bay of Jakarta. In that month 80 low-cost apartments, built especially for fishermen, are expected to be completed thanks to a Rp 1 billion (US$452,693) donation from the Gotong Royong Fund Foundation, chaired by First Lady Tien Soeharto.

According to Jakarta's Deputy Governor for People's Welfare, R.S. Museno, the new apartments will be available only to fishermen and their families, who can pay for them on an installment basis. Each of the 21-square-meter apartments will cost Rp 13.5 million, which the fishermen can pay in monthly installments of Rp 80,000.

The completion of the apartments at Muara Angke in August is planned to coincide with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's independence and is part of a general improvement plan for the village, which is one of the biggest concentrations of poverty-ridden fishermen in Jakarta's bay area. No doubt the allocation of the new apartments will help to give substance to the meaning of independence to Muara Angke's fishermen.

As we see it, however, the significance of the Gotong Royong Fund Foundation's gesture, if followed through, could go far beyond that of merely helping destitute citizens salute their country's independence. Fortunately, there is reason to believe that such hope is not unfounded.

Earlier it was reported that 23 of this country's wealthiest businessmen had donated a total of Rp 12.5 billion to upgrade slum areas in several parts of Jakarta. Part of the money is being used to build a low-cost apartment complex in Bidaracina, in eastern Jakarta. It is scheduled to be dedicated by President Soeharto next month.

All this, obviously, sends a welcome signal to Jakarta's needy. The rich, who have enjoyed the opportunity to reach such financial heights due to the nation's development programs, have the moral obligation to show their social responsibility toward the community. Besides, surely they understand that a widening social gap will only lead to resentment, and thus to disunity and instability.

The government has long warned Indonesians of this danger and has on various occasions reminded the rich that the potential for social instability is likely to shift from the political and ideological fields to the economic and social sectors. Reminding people of this danger is not as easy as explaining economic growth, which is measurable. Social solidarity, on the other hand, is a matter of conscience and is impossible to measure in numbers.

Of course, poverty in Indonesia is not limited to Jakarta. Elsewhere, too, trouble spots can emerge unless efforts are made to bridge the gap between rich and poor, which many observers perceive to be growing.

On several occasions in this column we have pointed out the tremendous contribution which private business can make towards easing the social and economic disparities that exist -- a task which is too heavy for the government to bear alone. It is to be hoped that the example that is being given in Jakarta will be followed in other areas of this country.