New statistiscs bill may hurt private researchers

New statistiscs bill may hurt private researchers

JAKARTA (JP): An economic advisory group criticized a
government-sponsored bill on statistics yesterday saying the bill
should not control private researchers.

The managing director of the Econit advisory group, Rizal
Ramli, said private sector research should not be controlled
because the quality and method of research they used was
determined by market forces and professional research etiquette.

Rizal said a statistics law should create a conducive
atmosphere which encouraged research.

"To do this, the public should be given facilities to conduct
research by cutting back unnecessary bureaucratic procedures as
much as possible," he said.

According to the bill being deliberated by the House of
Representatives, all private companies should get approval from
the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) to carry out surveying
activities.

Rizal said many articles in the bill also contradicted the
objective of the bill which was to encourage research by the
public and the government to produce valid statistical data.

"These contradictions occur because there is an ambiguity
between the country's, or the people's interest, and the
government's interest," he said.

"Controlling information and statistics is not the right way
to enter the 21st century when everything will be open and
transparent," he said.

In many developed countries, statistics laws oversee the
government sector but not the private sector, he said.

Although the bill does not explicitly mention government
control, it contains many articles showing that national
statistical activities should be steered by the BPS through the
standardization of methods, classifications, definitions and
other measurements.

Rizal also questioned the need for agencies to report their
work to BPS.

"The need to submit a survey synopsis gives the impression BPS
wants to know about every survey conducted by the public," he
said.

He said the cost, energy and time to comply with this ruling
would be significant.

"It would be more useful if the energy and costs went to
improving the quality of BPS' statistical data," he said.

Rizal criticized an article requiring surveyors to give the
public an "equal opportunity to know about and use statistical
information". Violators of this article face a penalty of Rp 25
million (US$10,416) or one month jail.

Rizal said this requirement would become an economic
disincentive to private agencies wanting to conduct surveys.

Senior researcher at the Bogor Agricultural University,
Professor Sediono MP Tjondronegoro, said researchers were often
required to provide statistical data which did not fit the facts.

"I can understand that the government may sometimes feel
disadvantaged by independent surveys conducted by non-government
or private agencies that tarnish the rosy figures published by
the government," he said.

Rizal said it would be better if BPS gave private researchers
free access to its raw data.

"This would allow private researchers to make their own
calculations and analysis," he said.

The government ordered BPS to draft the bill to ensure the
reliability of statistics produced and published in Indonesia.

Observers have said that BPS often issues figures, like
inflation and gross domestic product figures, after reaching a
consensus with certain government offices. (pwn)