Dessy Sagita – The Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation has demanded an audit into a recent discovery that the memory chips in the new Indonesian identity cards, or e-KTP, are destroyed if photocopied too many times.
"The Minister of Domestic Affairs must be seriously reprimanded and the e-KTP project must be re-audited," Tulus Abadi, the manager of the foundation known as the YLKI, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.
Tulus said the Domestic Affairs Ministry has made a serious error in issuing electronic products which could be compromised by photocopiers.
"It is just ridiculous and non-sensible to ask public to not photocopy their e-KTP. Other banking products like credit cards and ATM cards got photocopied all the time and they were fine," he said.
Tulus also criticized the government for not notifying the public about the glitch before the cards were distributed.
"Their announcement came way too late. They should have told us before that the e-KTP should not be photocopied more than once, not after millions of the cards were distributed, and I'm sure there are many people who have photocopied their e-KTP more than once because they didn't know that it would destroy the chip," he said.
The Ministry previously said that government offices and related institutions should use a card reader or ask for the single identity number (NIK) on the card in order to obtain the information provided in the e-KTP.
Tulus said the plan was not plausible because it would only add a burden to the public. "Procuring card readers means more projects, more unnecessary bureaucracy and bigger chances of embezzlement," he said.
Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi previously said that the e-KTP should not be photocopied, stapled or treated in certain ways that could damage the chip.
However, people often need copies of their identity cards when dealing with banks, police stations, obtaining drivers' licenses and vehicle registration documents (STNK) or accessing other services. When renewing the STNK, police officers often staple the card with some other documents.
The electronic IDs are markedly different from the old KTPs in that they include the holder's biodata, such as fingerprints and a retinal scan, in addition to the standard information of place and date of birth and address. It will also be valid for life, unlike the regular KTP that must be renewed every five years.