The Mulyana case: An NGO activist reflects

The Mulyana case: An NGO activist reflects

Ignatius Haryanto
Jakarta

If people perceive those working for non-governmental
organizations as clean, honest people they should think again,
with the arrest of General Elections Commission (KPU) member
Mulyana W. Kusuma for alleged corruption being a good example of
why.

Mulyana was appointed to the KPU three years ago. A
criminologist and reputable human rights activist from the
Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Mulyana also headed the
Indonesian Committee for Free and Fair Elections (KIPP) in the
mid-1990s.

The KPU had the difficult and complicated task of organizing
the country's first direct election.

As the investigation into Mulyana is still ongoing, it would
be inappropriate to comment on his case. Meanwhile, a fact-
finding team is looking into the case and hopefully the shroud of
mystery surrounding Mulyana and other KPU members will be lifted
over next few weeks.

Among NGO activists there are two different standpoints in
looking at Mulyana's case. One side believes that Mulyana was set
up and is innocent. Others believe the case should be
investigated carefully, and if it is proved that Mulyana did try
to bribe a state auditor, he should be jailed like any other
corrupt person.

Aren't NGO workers immune from corruption? Many NGO activists
were probably clean to begin with. But people can change due to
many factors, among them financial and political interests.

I can attest that being an NGO activist is not a glorious
life, and many NGO activists consider the NGO sector only a
stepping stone to a better life, be it in the bureaucracy or the
private sector.

It is very sad that an NGO activist like Mulyana would be
involved in such a case, a practice that has been long criticized
by many NGO activists. If Mulyana is found guilty of attempting
to bribe the auditor, it would be an embarrassment to NGOs and
would indicate that "money can buy anything" including the the
convictions of a seasoned activist.

This case also prompts one to wonder whether the role of the
NGO is changing to suit financial and political interests in
Indonesia. How can NGO people really strive to improve conditions
in Indonesia?

NGO activists alone cannot do much, because they depend on
other stakeholders. NGO activists can only participate in
specific issues, partial problems and sometimes become involved
in others' past actions.

Most NGO activists have ideals that they want to promote, and
by doing so, they collaborate with other stakeholders, such as
funding agencies, with a specific targeted community, with
experts and with government agencies.

Sometimes funding agencies -- domestic and foreign -- have
preferences in which issues to deal with, and local NGOs
sometimes become only an extension of an agency's interests.
That's why most NGOs often have to negotiate with funding
agencies, so that two different interests can be met.

There is a joke about a "project man", where an activist looks
for projects to survive. Through projects, activists can ensure
the sustainability of their institutions. But at the same, this
attitude can erode their ideals on how to improve conditions for
the targeted community.

Mulyana's case also shows that NGO activists are not immune to
corruption, and it takes a lot of determination and courage for
an NGO worker to remain clean in many public institutions, just
as it does a public official.

Still, we should not jump to the conclusion that all NGO
workers pursue financial gain in running their organizations.
Many NGO activists uphold their ideals, and to be fair, we should
also note that some of them also change their ideological
position when the political system changes.

Slowly but surely, there are some elements that tend to change
an NGO activist's ideological position and become part of the new
government, or another state institution, even to the extent that
they totally reverse their ideals.

NGO activists face bigger challenges when they enter a corrupt
system. They alone cannot fight a corrupt system, but they can at
least show us that they live properly and according to what they
struggle for.

The writer is a researcher at the Institute for Press and
Development Studies (LSPP), Jakarta. He can be contacted at
ignh@yahoo.com.