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.