Bureaucrat to chair new telecom watchdog

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The director general of telecommunications has appointed himself head of an "independent" regulatory body to supervise and settle disputes in the telecommunications industry after criticisms of bias by the directorate.

Ministry of Transportation (which covers telecommunications) post and telecommunications director general Djamhari Sirat told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the agency would be launched in the third quarter of the year and "is to be headed by myself".

Djamhari is also a commissioner at PT Telkom.

"The nature of the agency is an independent institution, which is capable of being fair in solving disputes in the telecommunications sector."

Djamhari said he would chair the agency because the scope of work was related to the affairs handled by his office.

Telecommunications industry expert Roy Suryo said any decision to appoint a bureaucrat as the head of the agency was a backward step for the country's telecommunications industry.

Roy said Djamhari had violated Law No. 36/1999 on Telecommunications which stated, in article 5, that to ensure fair practices the independent regulatory agency should consist only of telecommunications associations and experts.

The appointment of chairman should be based on recommendations from associations and experts, not by the government.

Roy doubted Djamhari could perform independently as he was still a commissioner at state-owned telecommunications giant PT Telkom.

"Just imagine what will happen if there is a dispute between Telkom and Indosat (another state-owned telecommunications firm). Who will guarantee that Djamhari, as a commissioner of Telkom, can solve the dispute fairly?" Roy said.

Telecommunications players have long demanded the government form an independent regulatory body as stipulated in the Telecommunications Law.

Analysts say the new agency is needed as the directorate general has failed to be independent.

The body was also needed to supervise the country's telecommunications sector, which is set to be fully liberalized in 2003. Telkom and Indosat will be able to enter the local, long distance and international call markets.