Novi Lumanauw & Ezra Sihite – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has embraced foreign nongovernmental organizations as valuable partners in the development process, in a marked break from his own party and administration's often hostile attitude to such groups due to their criticism of government policies.

Speaking at an event at the State Palace on Monday that was meant to mark World Environment Day, which was last Wednesday, Yudhoyono said it was important for the government to work together with foreign NGOs.

"Don't be against foreign NGOs. Make them your partners, your collaborators and friends," he said. "Work with them, not against them. That way we can ensure a better environment and a better country in the future."

He added that a lot of suspicion among most Indonesians remained, propagated by politicians, including the notion that foreign NGOs in the country were working on their own insidious agendas and did not have Indonesia's best interests at heart.

Yudhoyono said this kind of misconception was particularly evident in the environmental sector, with green groups commonly seen as opposing forest clearing for oil palm and pulp and paper plantations in a bid to undermine Indonesia's economic development.

"There are still some problems on that front. We have a lot of work to do to resolve our environmental issues, so let's partner up with [the foreign NGOs] to work on these issues together," he said.

He cited Greenpeace as a prime example of a group that his administration was working closely with on environmental affairs, noting that although it was often harshly critical of government policies, the two sides shared the same goals of achieving sustainable development.

"I've invited Greenpeace to partner with Indonesia, for the purpose of pointing out and correcting any steps we take that aren't right," he said. "We also want them to offer their views and recommendations, as well as the best options for moving forward, in the best interests of the environment."

While inviting criticism on Indonesia's environmental policies, the president invoked a popular West Sumatran saying "If the food is not good, tell me about it. If the food is good, then tell others about it," to emphasize that credit should be given when it was due.

Democrat legislators have been among politicians pushing for foreign NGOs to either be more closely monitored or expelled from the country. Chief among them is Marzuki Alie, the gaffe-prone speaker of the House of Representatives, who famously raised eyebrows in April 2011 when he called for the United Nations Development Program's office at the House complex to be shut down, mislabeling it as a foreign NGO.

Authorities have been paying particular attention to Greenpeace for its various campaigns pressuring major companies regarding their questionable environmental stewardship.

Last week, Yudhoyono visited Greenpeace's iconic ship, the Rainbow Warrior, at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok Port – almost three years since his administration barred the same vessel from docking in the country in the wake of its campaigning against pulp and paper and palm oil companies.

The government also barred the Greenpeace UK director from entering the country in October 2011 for a forestry conference, even though he arrived with a valid visa. The government said the reason for the refusal was a "state secret."

A week later, a Greenpeace forest campaigner was deported from the country. By November, authorities in Jakarta had ordered the organization to leave its office in Kemang on the grounds that the area was strictly a residential zone, despite the fact that hundreds of office, commercial and entertainment businesses also operate in the same area.

Critics say Yudhoyono's change in attitude toward foreign NGOs is part of a wider campaign to polish his image in the final year of his presidency.

Still, the president managed to get riled by a television report on deforestation in the country and the impact to the iconic and critically endangered orangutan, saying that such coverage was unbalanced and only focused on "the extreme negatives" found in Indonesia.

"I woke up at about 3:30 this morning and I watched a foreign TV channel, let's call it A. I saw a long report about deforestation in Indonesia," he said.

"If such reports are exaggerated, we have to call them out. Just because a program is interesting, that doesn't mean it should leave out the overall situation in Indonesia. It's that kind of perspective we need to correct if it gets out of balance."

While not naming the channel, the president was most likely referring to Al Jazeera and an episode on its hour-long Witness program titled "Green: Death of the Forests."

The station describes the program as "a visual essay about deforestation in Indonesia as experienced by a dying orangutan whose habitat has been destroyed."

The show airs again at 8 a.m. on June 11 and 1 p.m. on June 12.