Touchy Indonesia keeps tight lid on foreign researchers

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The government is drafting a new decree setting out even more onerous rules for foreign scientists conducting research here due to a growing number of "illegal studies", an official says.

The deputy chairman of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Lukman Hakim, claimed on Tuesday that not only had illegal studies cost the country dearly but also given rise to security concerns.

"Many foreigners conduct studies here and exploit our natural laboratories without permits from LIPI. We have found that they often do not benefit our national interest," he told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar here.

Presidential Decree No. 100/2002 designates LIPI as the only body in Indonesia that can issue permits to foreigners to conduct research here. The decree was issued to give effect to Law No. 18/2002 on science and technology.

Foreigners who violate their permits in conducting studies here face a maximum of six months in jail and fines of up to Rp 5 million (US$555), as well as immediate deportation, according to the law.

British academic Lesley McCulloch was sentenced to five months on Dec. 30, 2003, for violating the terms of her visa. Having entered the country on a tourist visa, she was arrested by Aceh Police for conducting a study in the war-torn province along with her American friend, Joy Sadler.

LIPI promotions director Krisbiwati said that a foreign scientist was deported recently as he attempted to illegally take a number of butterflies out of the country illegally after conducting a study here.

To obtain a LIPI permit to conduct a study here, foreign scientists must, among other requirements, submit six copies of the study proposal, including its purpose and the methodology to be employed, file a recommendation from the Indonesian embassy in the applicants' country of origin, refrain from engaging in political activities while here, and sign an agreement forcing them to team up with local partners.

To conduct a study, a foreign researcher is charged US$100 and another $50 for extension of his of her stay.

Lukman acknowledged that many applicants complained about the requirements.

"But we have to enforce the regulation. We have seen various cases where foreign researchers have claimed the intellectual property rights to studies that were actually conducted by their Indonesian counterparts," Lukman said.

Krisbiwati said that this year alone, around 200 foreign researchers had applied for permits to conduct studies here. Most of these were on anthropology, sociology and biodiversity. The applications had come from researchers from Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Canada, Norway and Switzerland.

The government still bans foreign researchers from conducting studies in the conflict-prone areas of Aceh, Papua, Poso in South Sulawesi, and Ambon in Maluku.