Old Leviathans hold power in Democratic Indonesia

Guest Speaker: ‘Old leviathans’ hold power in democratic Indonesia: INFIDAdianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 06/28/2010 9:37 AM | National



The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) celebrates its silver jubilee on June 8. Set up during Soeharto’s reign, the forum has actively monitored the implementation of development programs funded by foreign loans and grants. The Jakarta Post’s Adianto P. Simamora recently spoke to INFID executive director Donatus K. Marut about the forum’s journey during the 25 years. Below is an excerpt.

Question: Is INFID still relevant after 25 years?

Answer: INFID was established as a forum for civil society in Indonesia and donor countries grouped under the Intergovernmental Groups on Indonesia (IGGI), which changed its name into the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) in 1992.

The presence of CGI was then a sign of the absence of the Indonesian government’s political and economical sovereignty as it was a forum where all development plans in Indonesia were run by creditors orchestrated by the World Bank. Though the CGI was co-chaired by both Indonesia and the World Bank, all moves were controlled by creditors.

Does the CGI’s dissolution end the control of creditors on the economic policies in Indonesia?
Clearly not. Their grip continues through various kinds of development policy loans (DPL) and other loans. The DPL is an instrument used by creditors to dictate policies and law for Indonesia.

What are issues will INFID focus on in the future?

There are some important issues. First, development has to be seen as a movement of people’s economy. We want to encourage the government to promote socially responsible macroeconomic policies.

There has been an implicit assumption that a 2 percent economic growth rate would reduce poverty levels by 1 percent. So if the government targets 6 percent growth, poverty should be reduced by at least 3 percent annually.

What is happening now is that even when the government claims economic growth of 6 percent, the drop in poverty is less than 1 percent in terms of income and consumption level, but not the quality of poverty itself.

Second, INFID will still focus on consolidating democracy, particularly in promoting the capacity of citizens to make government and politicians accountable to the public.

One of the cases where democracy has been forsaken for the interest of certain groups in the ruling regime is the absorption of annual state budgets to cover negative impacts of the irresponsible actions of corporations, such as the annual state budget for Lapindo.

There are many examples of how the country, with its democratic institutions, can be held captive and taken over by crooked political groups in collaboration with crooked transnational groups. The Indonesian people have not utilized the democratic opportunities to actualize their sovereign power and reap the rewards of the country’s rich natural resources and social diversity.

Third, INFID will focus on monitoring the projects and programs funded by foreign aid, including funding for climate change.

There are indications climate change funding is another project set up by the same people who have been around since the initial establishment of the New Order dictatorship, who want to benefit from free funding without considering the burdens born by the majority of poor Indonesians.

What is INFID’s take on the development of democracy in the last 25 years?

Our democracy is still only a formality, it hasn’t touched on substances of national interest. It is appalling that poverty has deepened in quality and quantity since democracy and with an annual state budget that has almost doubled.

The most striking case in the last few weeks is the proposal of the so-called aspiration fund. This “proposal is not only dirty, rotten pork barrel” politics, but also an obvious sign of the rise of the old leviathan predators in Indonesian politics and democracy.

The proposal came from a group trying to undermine democracy and use democracy to swallow up state resources for their own interests. The aspiration fund is an illusion by the predators; those who will never respect democracy and human rights and only pretend to take part in democratic processes while trying to manipulate democracy for their own narrow and sordid predatory agenda.

If this proposal is approved, it would be the start of the end of democracy in Indonesia.