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Freedom of information, one step at a time
Antigraft proponent Febri Hendri had a reason to smile on Monday — he had just enjoyed a rare victory in the fight to enforce the freedom of information law in the country
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ntigraft proponent Febri Hendri had a reason to smile on Monday — he had just enjoyed a rare victory in the fight to enforce the freedom of information law in the country.
On Monday, the Central Information Commission (KIP) ruled in favor of Febri’s organization, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), ordering five junior high schools in Jakarta and the city education agency to disclose documents pertaining to government school operational funds.
“This will be recorded in the history of Indonesia’s freedom of information,” the senior researcher said.
The activists have long bemoaned limitations to information access when investigating alleged graft.
Established in August last year, the KIP, with three offices all in Java, has so far received 31 information disclosure requests from the public. Most of the plaintiffs were NGOs, followed by companies, said KIP chairman Ahmad Alamsyah Saragih.
“Only one individual has filed a dispute; a doctor who was just fired from a health center operated by a state port operator,” he said.
“Her employer said it was because she frequently disappeared without notice. She denied this and asked for her attendance record but the office refused it. Then she came here,” Alamsyah told The Jakarta Post.
From 31 requests filed at the KIP, the commission’s branches — in Jakarta, East Java and Central Java — have each held one hearing. Those are ICW vs five junior high schools and the Jakarta education agency in Jakarta, NGO Gebrak vs Sumenep’s Transportation Agency and Institute for Discourse Research and Application vs PT Blora Patragas Hulu.
Alamsjah said he expected more cases would come as public awareness of the KIP and the freedom of information law grew.
“We plan to launch a massive campaign. But not very soon because the public might be overly enthusiastic while our resources are still limited,” Alamsyah said.
This year the commission received Rp 7.5 billion (US$840,000) from the state budget, which it has proposed to raise up to Rp 13.4 billion for next year, he said.
Commissioners have not received their salaries for more than a year, Alamsjah said, adding that regulatory weaknesses had also been a problem.
The defendant in the Blora case, he cited, had yet to respond to the Central Java’s Provincial Information Commission’s instruction for PT Blora Patragas Hulu to provide the requested information.
The defendant also ignored the 14-day deadline set by the commission.
“The law says those who fail to obey the ruling can face a one-year jail sentence. But it is not us who enforce the punishment,” Alamsjah said. “I think it is supposed to be the police, but the plaintiff needs to file another report.”
Many people including businesspeople have nevertheless welcomed the establishment of the KIP and the freedom of information law.
Sofjan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association, said the law could follow up on businessmen’s complaints about poor government transparency.
“But it needs seriousness,” he said, adding that transparency could help companies grow faster and provide more jobs.
The most common complaints filed by businesses related to transparency in tenders for government projects, according to the KIP.
Indonesia is among 80 countries that have endorsed the freedom of information law.
