Coalition of NGOs opposes secrets bill
Coalition of NGOs opposes secrets bill
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) launched a
campaign on Friday opposing a proposed official secrets bill,
which they said could hamper the effort to establish transparent
and accountable government if it were enacted into law.
They also urged the House of Representatives to prioritize the
deliberation of a freedom of information bill this year rather
than the official secrets bill.
"Essentially, we don't need an official secrets bill as many
provisions on official secrets have actually been incorporated
into the freedom of information bill," said Agus Sudibyo from the
Institute for the Study of Free Flows of Information (ISAI)
during a press conference held at the House.
He questioned why the government and lawmakers preferred to
prioritize the official secrets bill rather than the freedom of
information bill, which was drafted three years ago.
Fellow activist Agus Pambagio from the Children of the Nation
Vision (VAB) group emphasized that the immediate deliberation of
the freedom of information bill was important for ensuring
transparency in the management of donations for disaster-hit
areas around the country.
He said that the activists, grouped in the Freedom of
Information Coalition, planned to meet legislators from the
House's information and intelligence commission.
In addition, Agus Sudibyo added that the substance of the
official secrets bill ran contrary to that of the freedom of
information bill.
The official secrets bill adopts the principle of limited
access to information, while the freedom of information bill
adheres to the principle of maximum access to information.
"The principle of limited access means that the state can
restrict public access to information by saying that the
information is secret," he said.
According to Agus, the official secrets bill also contained
articles that could pose a serious threat to press freedom.
He expressed fears that the plan to deliberate the official
secrets bill was part of a government plan to stifle the flow of
information, given that the government was simultaneously
revision the Criminal Code.
The draft revision of the Criminal Code contains articles that
could also adversely affect press freedom.
Separately, legislator Mutammimul Ula, a member of the House's
legislation committee, said that the House has recently included
the official secrets bill on its priority list this year based on
the readiness of both the government and lawmakers to deliberate
the bill.
The committee had targeted the passage of 55 bills in 11
months as part of the National Legislation Program.
The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights' director general for
legislation, Abdulgani Abdullah, has stated that the revised
Criminal Code was among the 55 bills.
But given the fact that the revised Criminal Code contains
more than 700 articles, the deliberation process could take more
than three years.