The development of science should not only be centered in cities such us Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Jakarta, however, centers of science should be developed also in Aceh, Papua, Banjarmasin etc. Indonesia has many provinces and can not be organized by knowing Java only. -Irwan Abdullah, Director of the Graduate School Gadjah Mada University-
The above was stated by Prof. Dr. Irwan Abdullah when giving a welcoming speech at a book discussion “Energy Business Strategy of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and Development. The book discussion was held on Monday, October 27, 2008. The speakers were Ir. H. Aknasio Abri (the author and ex director of PT Arun LNG), Dr. Hendra Amijaya (lecturer at Technique Faculty, GMU), and Prof. Dr. Irwan Abdullah (anthropologist, director of Graduate School of GMU) and moderator was Dr. Bekti Setiawan.
In order to introduce work process, mechanism, and cooperation social responsibility (CSR) of Arun LNG before the discussion began, the committee held a movie showing about Arun LNG and its activities.
The topic, which received attention in the book discussion, is CSR or cooperate social responsibility. Currently CSR is a hot topic in the business field because many big companies which get more benefit, do not know how to arrange the benefit. According to Irwan Abdullah, there are many cooperate funds which entrust their funds in banks such as BNI, Mandiri etc. CSR is not only a way to distribute the funds, but also a way to help people who live around the companies. There are many cases where there is a gap between people who live in factory or company areaa and people who live outside company areas. Based on researches that was conducted by Prof. Mubiarto, the poorest villages in Indonesia are villages in the Caltex company area. CSR is one of the ways to break the gap between life outside and inside the company. According to the book, CSR is the way a company manages and improves its social and environmental impact to generate value for both its shareholders and stakeholders by innovating strategy, organization and operation. However Irwan Abadullah said that sometimes CSR is guessed as an activity which is not purely to help people However, there are hidden agendas in promoting the company.
According to Irwan Abdullah, there are four indicators to value welfare levels in one area. The first is infrastructure. Does changing infrastructure occur in Aceh? Second, structural. Is there any gap between rich people and poor people? Third, changes in the cultural dimension. Industrialization is a transformation from agricultural to industrial. Does the change make Acehnese become more productive? Forth, institutional development. The institutional development can be seen from production, distribution and consumption.
In his explanation, Ir. H. Akbasio Sabri said that PT Arun LNG is an icon of LNG in the world. The unique thing from PT Arun is PT Arun is a non benefit company however, PT Arun can help the local government. According to Akbasio Sabri, some activities which have been held by Arun LNG are developing local human resources such as establishing the chemical Faculty at Syeh Kuala University, giving scholarship to students, developing community development (CD) by giving training to youth villages such us heavy equipments operator, welder, millwright and other training which are needed by industries.
In answering question from an audience who criticized work contracts of natural resources management between foreign companies and Indonesian government, according to Hendra Wijaya, “we do not see narrowly that many Indonesian natural resources are managed by foreign companies, but we could see also that not many Indonesian entrepreneurs are able to manage and explore natural resources which are high cost and high risk. such us oil, liquids gas, etc”. Because it is high cost and high risk, many Indonesian entrepreneurs avoid entering this business. Many foreign executives enter this business because they are not only strong in financial and technological aspects, but also they are brave in taking and receiving risk.
Before closing the discussion, Irwan Abdullah said that this book could be a format guidance for other companies in organizing CSR (cooperate social responsibility).