Ministry says SOEs not 'public domain'

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 01/30/2008 4:00 AM | Business

The State Ministry for State Enterprises has insisted that state companies are not part of the 'public domain', and therefore should not, under the Public Information Act, be required to disclose any information if requested by the public.

The secretary to the State Minister for State Enterprises, Said Didu, announced at a seminar Tuesday that state firms were categorized as business entities, not public agencies, so must only abide by regulations overseeing the corporate sector.

"The obligation to disclose financial reports for instance is only valid for state companies that have gone public, but not to those which have not," he said.

He said that like any other privately owned companies, non-publicly listed state companies should have the same right not to disclose financial reports.

Besides, he said, states enterprises have changed.

"Under the old regime, state enterprises used to be public agencies where many parties with vested interests interfered.

"This is no longer the case, so they are not required to make their performance public information, unless of course they are listed companies."

If the bill is imposed on state firms they would lose their "competitive edge," Said added.

"If the bill applies to state firms, they would lose to rival privately owned companies. Their rivals could see the SOEs' performance and plan upon it, while the state firms could not. Would that be fair?"

The bill, currently being deliberated by the House of Representatives, will give the public permission to gain access to information from public institutions.

Public access to information is documented under article 28 of the country's 1945 Constitution, which stipulates that the government is obliged to allow people their right to information, unless it is classified as a "state secret".

In response to Said's comment, head of the House Commission 1 which is overseeing the deliberation of the bill, Arif Mudatsir Mandan, said the bill was not something the government should worry about, as it would only make state companies more transparent and perform better.

Many state enterprises receive assistance funds from the state budget, he said, which means the public need to know how their tax money is being spent.

"If some state enterprises refuse to disclose their performance to the public, why doesn't the government privatize them?"

"The bill will promote transparency. It is expected that state firms, under public scrutiny, would be challenged to work harder, better and cleaner," Arif said. (nkn)

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