The public at large will not benefit from the newly passed freedom of public information law if its implementation is limited to groups like non-governmental organizations, businesspeople and the press, a discussion heard on Monday.

The Institute for Free Flow of Information Studies (ISAI) suggests that Indonesia learn from the experience of the country's 20 regions which have endorsed laws on transparency of information, but have denied the public the right of access to information.

"Despite the fact (that these bylaws are in place), only elite groups like the press, NGOs and businesspeople have the luxury of accessing information. The public at large, on the other hand, continues to be discriminated against when requesting information from government agencies," ISAI's coordinator for advocacy Ahmad Faisol said.

"The culture of secrecy has taken root in the country's bureaucracy, as seen when government officials express reluctance to disclose information to ordinary people."

Bandung and Majalengka in West Java, Kebumen and Magelang in Central Java, Ngawi and Lamongan in East Java and Manado in North Sulawesi are among the 20 regions that have passed a bylaw on transparency of information, according to the data of the Press Legal Aid Institute.

Chief editor of weekly magazine Tempo, Toriq Hadad, citing a survey conducted in 14 countries on the implementation of public information laws, found that most countries faced similar problems.

The survey, organized by the Open Society Justice Initiative, included Argentina, Bulgaria, France, Chile, Peru, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain and Mexico.

Ordinary people, Toriq said, have to produce reasons when asking for information from government officials. Failure to provide adequate reasons, he added, means that officials hang on to the information.

"The common responses are either they do not have the requested data or that the data belongs to another department. These responses look like an unwritten regulation (to restrict access to information)," Toriq said.

Ahmad said that based on local and foreign experiences, the media bore the main responsibility for promoting the public right to access information. The law on freedom of access to information will come into effect fully in 2010.

"It's time for the media to disseminate information about the law to the public, informing them of their right to access information that has long been denied by the bureaucracy," he said. Public awareness of this right is the key to successful enforcement of the law, he added.

Deputy editor of TV One newsroom, R. Nurjaman, agreed, saying the public had to fight for transparency so that there would be no more "information transactions forcing the public to pay money to obtain the information they need."

In implementing the law, Toriq suggested that each government agency would need to employ a specialized manager to handle information requests.

Speakers in the discussion also recommended that the government encourage whistle blowers within organizations and individuals to promote the law, as well as to push for heavy punishments against officials who blocked access to information.

Lawmaker at Commission III overseeing defense, information, foreign and political affairs at the House of Representatives, Hajriyanto Y. Thohari, said the law, which was passed last April, was of a great relevance now that corruption cases made "sexy headlines" in newspapers.

"The law on public information can prevent corruption because graft always starts from secrecy," Hajriyanto said.

The discussion also revealed the success of the law on public of information in Thailand, which was used to unravel alleged income tax evasion and corruption involving former prime minister Thaksin Sinawatra.

Thailand is the first Southeast Asian country to implement a freedom of information law.

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