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Editorial: Gifts for the needy

Idul Fitri is always marked by the distribution of alms for the needy, although in a broader term the post-Ramadhan festival also witnesses adults giving gifts to their children, grandchildren, nephews and perhaps children in the neighborhood

The Jakarta Post
Sun, September 4, 2011

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Editorial: Gifts for the needy

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dul Fitri is always marked by the distribution of alms for the needy, although in a broader term the post-Ramadhan festival also witnesses adults giving gifts to their children, grandchildren, nephews and perhaps children in the neighborhood.

Under camera flashes, a number of rich men across the country invited hundreds of the poor to their houses ahead of Idul Fitri to receive alms, in the form of either cash or staple foods. The media covered the charity events and – unfortunately – the messy organization of the alms distribution. Some of the recipients fainted due to suffocation or exhaustion as they jostled with each other for the alms.

In about the same style, thousands of well-wishers packed the State Palace to attend an Idul Fitri open house hosted by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday. Among them were 550 people with disabilities, who received money after sharing Idul Fitri wishes with the head of state and his family. The palace’s media bureau head DJ. Nachrowi declined to specify the amount of money that went to each of the disabled.

Many other well-wishers, who had waited several hours outside the palace, were eventually denied access to the
open house due to time restrictions. They may have to try their luck next year if the President hosts the same Idul Fitri gathering.

What has transpired from the open house and the charity events? A private TV channel jumped to the conclusion that those Idul Fitri-related gatherings only prove that the government’s claim of success in curbing poverty is wrong.

The Central Statistics Agency said that as of March this year, the number of low-income people reached 30.02 million, representing 12.49 percent of the 240 million population.

The rate fell from 13.3 percent in March 2010, 14.15 percent in March 2009, 15.42 percent in March 2008, 16.58 percent in March 2007 and 17.75 percent in March 2006

Underlining the successful poverty alleviation program, chairman of the agency, Rusman Heryawan, said Indonesia’s poverty line, or the minimum level of income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate standard of living, increased by 10.3 percent in the past year to Rp 233,740 (US$27.5) per person per month, from Rp 211,726 last year.

Still, the standard falls behind the World Bank’s benchmark of $2 per person per day.

National Development Planning Minister Armida Alisjahbana warned that the nearly-poor figure grew at a similar rate, bringing the total of number of people just above the poverty line to 25 percent, or 60 million people.

Poverty alleviation is a battle front Yudhoyono has always expected to win, unlike the fight against corruption. Going on statistics, the former Army general is moving a step closer to fulfilling the Millennium Development Goal of halving the poverty rate by 2015.

Earlier this year, the President launched an ambitious economic master plan, which is expected to boost Indonesia’s gross domestic product to about $4.5 trillion by 2025, making it one of the world’s top 10 largest economies.

Of course, the thousands of unfortunates, who were seen on TV struggling for charity prior to and during the Idul Fitri celebrations, could not convince the public to agree that poverty in the country was worsening. They merely showed that poverty remains an unresolved problem, as it does in wealthy countries.

But we may look at the Idul Fitri phenomenon from a different angle if we believe poverty remains a cause for concern. We could hope fewer people will turn up for charity events from next year on as it will indicate a decline in the poverty rate.

For better or worse, charity events are not the panacea to poverty that plagues Indonesia or any other country. The law on poverty alleviation passed by the House of Representatives in July recognizes food and clothing charities as measures to curb poverty, but the priority is given topeople’s empowerment programs, such as self-develop-ment training, scholarships, housing and health services, and access to employment.

Direct cash assistance to the poor, known as BLT, is no longer permitted due to its vulnerability to fraud. A 2009 National Social and Economic Survey (Susenas) revealed that the proportion of non-poor people receiving the aid, known as the inclusion error, was 56 percent for direct cash assistance, 67 percent for the rice allowance program and 64 percent for the healthcare program (Jamkesmas).

BLT was also said to have helped Yudhoyono win re-election in 2009.

Gifts are not exclusively reserved for the needy ahead of Idul Fitri, however. University of Indonesia rector Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri stirred public anger this week for awarding an honorary doctorate degree to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The award was presented last week at the King’s Al-Safa Palace.

The doctorate degree was awarded to the King for his efforts to promote moderate Islam and a peaceful settlement of the Palestine conflict, but many in Indonesia could not forget – or forgive – his failure to save Indonesian migrant worker Ruyati binti Satubi from execution two months ago.

Chairman of the UI’s board of professors, Bachtiar Aly, said almost all faculties at the university protested the award due to concern over Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record. The latest Human Rights Watch report says Indonesian domestic workers endure frequent physical, psychological and sexual abuses in the Middle East country.

Bachtiar said the incident had led to a move to evaluate the rector’s policies. Speculation has been rife that the university’s academic community is seeking the rector’s dismissal.

— Dwi Atmanta

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