Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has stopped publishing online reports, to the dismay of freedom of information proponents. The agency said the state institutions it audited had complained that it was "too open".
BPK provided reports through the Internet even before the 2008 Law on Freedom of Information was implemented this year. The law has compelled many state institutions to open online access to public information like court verdicts, police investigation reports and public tenders.
But reports of blackmail prompted the agency to close the online access, requiring information seekers to submit official letters to obtain a hard copy of reports.
A public relations staffer of BPK, who requested anonymity, said, "The state institutions have been complaining that we were too open. [The institutions] said the reports had been used to blackmail them," the source said recently.
Activists called the audit agency's decision a setback amid efforts of other state institutions to comply with the law by providing easy access to their public information, Agus Sudibyo, a Press Council member who was a researcher involved in the formulation of the law, expressed disappointment at the agency's decision. "Why should they be afraid of blackmail? The reason is not acceptable," he said Sunday.
Although the agency still offers offline access, the bureaucracy was not in line with the spirit of openness, Agus said. "The principle of openness is efficiency, ease and relevancy."
The law requires all public institutions, including the government at all levels, as well as political parties and state-owned enterprises, to periodically release all information under their authority and appoint special staffers to manage and distribute information and documents.
Agus said a document could be used in blackmail only if it contained irregularities like details of budget misuse or other incriminating information. "Credible and accountable institutions will never see freedom of information as a blackmail threat."
He suggested that state bodies report any blackmail threats to the police instead of reducing access to public data, which was counterproductive to transparency.
Transparency International Indonesia (TII) secretary-general Teten Masduki said having freedom of information after 30 years of an "opaque" regime was not easy, but it was important to maintain it to end corruption among state officials.
Ahmad Alamsyah Saragih, the chairman of the Central Information Commission (KIP), the official body with legal authority to settle information disputes, said KIP had received requests from "dubious" organizations and individuals, which might look to extort state officials.
"However, we're not allowed to reject any requests. We processed the requests anyway," he said.
Ahmad said the commission was preparing a regulation to filter requests without clear purposes. "It's not for limiting access to public data. But with the resources we currently have, we should prioritize requests coming from the end users of the requested documents," he said.
He added many other institutions had shown progress in complying with the law. The Supreme Court and the National Police have improved their online information, he said.
The Public Works Ministry, in collaboration with the Corruption Eradication Commission, launched an online portal providing detailed information on road projects nationwide.