Freedom of info bill hangs in balance<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Observers criticized the government on Wednesday for what they
\nsee as its lack of commitment to transparency, as evidenced by
\nits failure to respond to a House-drafted freedom of information
\nbill.<\/p>\n
\"The government apparently prefers to keep information related
\nto the public interest secret,\" Agus Sudibyo, a researcher with
\nthe Institute for Studies on the Free Flow of Information (ISAI),
\ntold a discussion.<\/p>\n
The House of Representative drafted a freedom of information
\nbill in August 2004 and submitted it to the executive. However,
\nno response has been forthcoming to date.<\/p>\n
Agus said that increasing access to information would benefit
\nnot only the public, but also the government, whose branches
\nwould be able to access information possessed by other branches
\nand thereby, hopefully, improve coordination and teamwork.<\/p>\n
The recent reports on childhood malnutrition, Agus said,
\nprovided a good example of a failure to share information as
\nbetween government institutions.<\/p>\n
\"The National Development Planning Board should have been
\ngiven direct access to Ministry of Health data on poor nutrition
\nand malnourishment in order to enable the government to take
\naction to prevent the situation from escalating into a crisis,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
To promote transparency, the state needed to enact legislation
\nto ensure and guarantee public access to information, Agus said.<\/p>\n
Instead of discussing the proposed freedom of information bill
\nwith the House, however, the government has instead been
\npromoting its own official secrets bill, which critics fear will
\nmake public access to information even more difficult.<\/p>\n
Another panelist, Djoko Susilo, a member of House Commission
\nI, said a House plenary session on July 8 was expected to pen in
\nthe freedom of information bill for deliberation during the next
\nsession of House.<\/p>\n
\"But it all depends on whether the head of the state will send
\na government delegate to take part in the deliberations,\" Djoko
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Djoko said a prolonged delay in the deliberation of the bill
\nwould spark fear among the general public of a return
\nauthoritarianism. (004)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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