Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has left journalists wondering about his commitment to information transparency, as he has been unavailable for journalists in the two weeks since the start of his second year in office.

The governor’s media team customarily shares his daily schedule with journalists at City Hall through a WhatsApp group. However, no updates have been provided in the past few weeks, leaving reporters wondering about the city’s latest developments and lacking confirmation on the Jakarta administration’s programs.

Since Oct. 4, City Hall has revealed only three of the governor’s activities, namely the second phase of the construction of bike lanes and their launch on Oct. 12, a press conference on Anies’ second year in office on Oct. 15 and Ruang Ketiga Jakarta (Jakarta’s Third Room) photo exhibition on Saturday. 

Though much of Anies’ whereabouts have been unknown to City Hall journalists, the governor occasionally shares his work-related activities through social media.

The radio silence has raised concerns that the administration is deliberately clamping down on media access to public information and the city’s high-ranking officials.

During a press conference last Tuesday, Anies did not respond to a journalist’s question regarding the matter.

“[Journalists] must know by now that I will announce [policies] only when all [the plans] are completed,” he told reporters during the press conference, responding to another question about the Kampung Akuarium restoration plan and remunicipalization progress.

Lenny Tristia Tambun, who has been working as a journalist at City Hall since the leadership of former governor Sutiyoso in the early 2000s, said she had been finding it difficult to ask the governor or City Hall officials for confirmation on stories.

“Are we [reporters] still considered the city administration’s partners in informing their work to the public?” Lenny asked The Jakarta Post on Friday. 

The governor’s media team still shares written press releases of events attended by the governor, but they do not contain sufficient information for her to carry out her job as a journalist, she said, adding that it would be better to attend the events herself.

“Are we press release journalists? There are particular assignments given by my office that require a direct confirmation from the governor,” Lenny added. 

Public information regarding the city’s plans and progress during Anies’ leadership has been under scrutiny by journalists since he took office in October 2017.

Anies, who promised transparency during his campaign, conceded that his way of communicating policies was to disclosing them to the media only when they are complete and ready to be disseminated. He also told his subordinates to take the same approach.

The Home Ministry’s acting regional autonomy director-general, Akmal Malik, emphasized that public officials must obey the Public Information Disclosure Law. 

The law stipulates that public institutions are obliged, at any time, to provide information related to, among others, public policies, project work plans and agreements with third parties.

Regardless of the law, Akmal said that ethically, officials must respond when asked about the progress of their work.

“Substantially, officials must inform the public about what they’re going to do and what’s been going on in meeting public necessities. The public and press, which is also part of the public, have the right to be informed,” Akmal told the Post.

“The city administration must inform the public as long as the information is not considered confidential,” he said.

Gadjah Mada University political communications expert Kuskridho Ambardi said the press was a crucial part of the policy-making process.

“[The press] represents the public, who want to be aware of public service-related information, and plays a role in informing us about what the city administration will do,” he said. “Those who will be affected [by any public policies] have the right to know [the information] and voice their aspirations.”

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