Jakarta – A number of Islamic social organisations from the Islamic Community Forum (FUI) have visited the offices of the Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs to ask that the government be on guard against foreign intervention that could divide the nation. The FUI also asked the government to audit the funds of non-government organisations (NGOs).

The request was conveyed by FUI Secretary General Muhammad Al-Khaththath on Tuesday June 27 when he arrived together with representatives from a number of other Islamic social organisations including the Indonesian Council for Islamic Propagation (DDI), Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, the Native Jakarta Brotherhood Forum (FBR), the Indonesian Committee for World Muslim Solidarity (KISDI) and the Fraternity of Indonesian Muslims (PMI).

According to Khaththath one of the forms of intervention which could divide the nation that is being carried out by foreign institutions with offices in Indonesia, is through the funding of existing NGOs including providing overseas education scholarships. “They provide funds by sending Indonesian people to schools overseas. After completing [the schooling], these people return and make disruptive statements”, explained Khaththath.

Khaththath is asking the government to be on guard against and to audit all NGOs that receive assistance and funding from foreigners. In this way, the government can verify what the real aim is in providing these scholarship funds.

The ad interim chairperson of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation Patra Zen said he believes the FUI statement has some validity. However in relation to scholarships, Zen believes accusations such as this are wrong. According to Zen, a number of people such as Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara – who now holds the post of National Human Rights Commission chair – was a foreign graduate who obtained a scholarship. (dwa)

[Translated by James Balowski.]