Some Aspects of Institutionalized <i>Gotong Royong</i>

Abstract

Gotong Royong, a representative mutual aid organization, was recognized as an tradition in Indonesia, but today we have discovered that Gotong Royong is merely “a fabricated tradition.” Gotong Royong was quoted frequently by former President Soekarno during the 1950's and 60's as a justification for “guided democracy.” Moreover, Gotong Royong was not only touted as a political slogan, but was also institutionalized to enhance neighborhood associations.During the early 1950's, Jakarta encountered such problems as rapid population influx and ballooning municipal administration services. Under such circumstances, the city needed a device for managing and controlling its residents, an intermediary between the city government and residents, and also needed to complement city services. The device adopted constituted a realignment of existing neighborhood associations which had ceased to function, namely Rukun Tetangga and Rukun Kampung (RT/RK).During 1954-55 Jakarta Mayor Sudiro, who had close ties with Soekarno, played a leading role in enhancing RT/RK in an effort to revive the spirit of Gotong Royong. The enhancement of neighborhood associations with Gotong Royong as the standard bearer closely resembles the background of the neighborhood associations, Tonarigumi and Azajookai, that were implemented under the Japanese Occupation.Mayor Sudiro delivered a radio speech on 19 May 1954 to announce the enhance of RT/RK for Jakarta citizens. After the speech, the enhancement process of existing and new RT/RK, made rapid progress; and as a result, 4, 323 RT and 476 RK were implemented in April of 1955.On the other hand, there were some problems, one being misunderstanding on the part of citizens about the enhancement measures, another the overlapping of the night guard posted by RT/RK residents and some firms. To solve these problems, The First Conference of RT/RK was held in Jakarta on 28 June 1955, where the orientation and function of RT/RK was discussed and decisions made about the social, economic and public safety functions of RT/RK.Consequently, neighborhood associations that upheld the Gotong Royong tradition displayed a dualist composition of “reciprocity among residents” and national “power tactics.” The manipulation of this dualism was conducted by advocating a tradition that presented an obvious truth and was thus difficult to oppose.