Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The controversial state secrecy bill is back, with the Defense Ministry planning to meet with a number of prominent public figures who had earlier expressed opposition to it.

The bill still carries heavy jail terms for journalists and gives the government the right to close media organizations.

Agus Brotosusilo, a ministerial adviser working on the bill, said on Sunday that it was hoped discussions could begin as early as next month.

In September, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finally bowed to public pressure and demanded that the House of Representatives – which at the time was rushing to enact a draft of the legislation at the end of its term – delay passage of the controversial bill.

Critics had derided the bill as a return to the authoritarian era under former dictator Suharto, saying it would hamper the democratic process that began in 1998 under a reform agenda that laid the groundwork for freedom, transparency and accountability.

Agus mentioned prominent activists opposed to the previous bill – Agus Sudibyo from the Science, Aesthetic and Technology Foundation, lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, anti-corruption activist Teten Masduki, human rights activist Usman Hamid and prominent sociologist Daniel Dhakidae – and said the ministry had attempted to address their concerns in the new draft.

The people Agus mentioned were among those who signed a petition rejecting the adoption of the state secrecy bill in September. They insisted the bill's content would harm the principles of good governance, democracy and freedom of information.

"We have entered many new things, including how the draft would include the spirit of anti-corruption, freedom of the press and respect for human rights values," Agus said.

Agus Sudibyo, however, criticized the new approach on Sunday. He said the government should invite the activists to participate in drafting the bill and not simply allow them to comment on a finished draft.

Agus Sudibyo said the Defense Ministry had promised that civil society would be involved in drafting the bill, pointing out that there was a clear difference between just being called to comment and being involved in the actual drafting.

"If the ministry has good intentions on including what citizens want with the bill, they should make us sit with them while drafting the bill," he said.

The state secrecy bill would give the government authority to limit public access to specific documents, information, activities and objects that have been officially declared state secrets by the president.

A member of the Press Council had earlier said that the previous version of the bill provided the government with tools to control press freedom through revocation of a company's operating license, fining a company until it became bankrupt, as well as jailing journalists.

The ministry's Agus Brotosusilo said the ministry would retain such provisions in the new draft of the bill, but explained this did not mean to criminalize press institutions.

He said past experiences justify why these articles should be kept. He cited the example of three Indonesians who sold photographic state documents of natural resources in Papua to mining company Freeport McMoran. He did not elaborate on details of the case.