Conflicting bills may be discussed together
Conflicting bills may be discussed together
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Several members of the House of Representatives (DPR) proposed
on Wednesday a simultaneous deliberation of two new bills on
freedom of information and state secrecy in order to avoid
conflicting provisions as between the two bills.
House members underlined the importance of prioritizing the
deliberation on public access to information.
The bill on freedom of information gives the public access to
information, while the state secrecy bill provides even low-
ranking officers with the authority to ban public access to
information.
"The deliberation of the bills has to be made simultaneously
to avoid contradicting articles," deputy chairman of House
Commission I in charge of information affairs R.K. Sembiring
Meliala said here on Wednesday.
Fellow Commission I member Hajriyanto Y. Thohari agreed, but
warned of the increasing pressure legislators may be under during
the deliberation of the two bills.
"Technically, the deliberation can be done simultaneously.
But, the substance of the bills will be too burdensome,"
Hajriyanto told The Jakarta Post, adding that he would try to
uphold the public's right to information as a priority.
Both Sembiring of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan) and Hajriyanto of Golkar made the remarks on a
plan by legislators to discuss the bill on freedom of information
and an intention by the government to submit a state secrecy bill
to the House later this month.
On Monday, legislator Tumbu Saraswati told a House plenary
meeting that her team would start deliberating the bill on
freedom of information over the next few days.
Speaking on behalf of the 29 inter-faction legislators, Tumbu
of PDI Perjuangan said that the bill was expected to enforce the
creation of transparent governance.
Agus Sudibyo of the coalition of nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) for freedom of information urged legislators recently to
respond to the public's demand for transparent governance.
"The government must delay the deliberation of the state
secrecy bill," Agus said.
Fellow activist of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law
(ICEL) Yosi Khatarina suggested on Wednesday that the substance
of the two bills be merged into one bill.
"Because its substance is similar, the state secrecy bill
should be merged into the one on the freedom of information," she
told the Post.
Legislator Djoko Susilo, who heads the media and information
unit of Commission I, expressed fear on Tuesday of the
possibility that the deliberation of the bill on state secrecy
may take priority over the bill on the freedom of information.
His concern won support from some legislators, including
Firman Jaya Daeli, who recommended that the bill on freedom of
information be deliberated first.
"The House will firstly discuss the bill on freedom of
information, while the bill on state secrecy should be adjusted
later," Firman said on Wednesday.