DPR serious about information bill

DPR serious about information bill

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A special committee to deliberate the freedom of information
bill will be formed in early June of this year, legislator Djoko
Susilo said on Thursday.

Djoko, who heads the media and information team set up by
House Commission I, said his team was now collecting input from
all involved parties in society so as to lay down solid
foundations for the deliberation of the bill.

"In general, the proposal to deliberate the bill has gained
support from all factions in the House.

We are optimistic that the committee will be formed in June,
and after that we can then start the deliberation of the bill in
the House," Djoko told The Jakarta Post and Kompas daily after
addressing a discussion here titled "Freedom to Obtain Public
Information."

The discussion was held by the Indonesian Telecommunications
and Information Society (Mastel).

According to Djoko, the committee would have some 50 members,
and, in accordance with tradition, it would be chaired by a
legislator from either the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) or the Golkar Party, the biggest
factions in the House.

The bill, the first draft of which was released to the public
last month by the House team, was expected to be completed by the
end of this year.

However, Djoko was unsure whether the deadline could be met.

According to Djoko, conservatism was increasing in the House
recently, which might impede the deliberation of the bill.

"In several working meetings in the House, significant numbers
of legislators have several times lashed out at the press, saying
that the press has gained too much freedom," he said.

The legislators were uncomfortable with the press, and they
often criticized the media for acting irresponsibly and
frequently playing up stories, he added.

"Learning from this, I am afraid that they will change their
stances during the deliberation of the bill," said Djoko.

In a bid to deal with such possible obstacles, the team has
been waging a public campaign through public discussions and
seminars to convince the public and House members that the bill
was important for the public.

According to Djoko, the freedom to access information was
important since it would spur and enforce transparency, which was
badly needed to bring about good governance, the ultimate goal of
the reform movement.

Djoko, from the Reform Faction, ruled out the possibility that
the bill would overlap with the state secrecy bill, which was
being drafted by the government.

The government has yet to propose the bill to the House.

In the Indonesian administrative system, both the government
and the House have equal rights to initiate legislation.

According to Djoko, the government and the House would
cooperate and undertake a concerted effort to deal with any
possible overlapping.

"We understand that not all information can be accessed and
obtained by the public, including information about the military
and official secrets," he said.

Meanwhile, the president of Mastel, Sukarno Abdurrahman
demanded that the House ensure that the bill guarantees an equal
playing ground in the regulation of the telecommunications and
information fields.

"The bill must push the government to be transparent in the
telecommunications and information fields, such as holding
tenders for telephone operators and obtaining radio frequencies,"
he said.

Mastel members comprise some 400 private and public
institutions, including state-owned companies PT Telkom, Indosat
and others.