M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A coalition of non-governmental organization has rejected a government plan to introduce a single identification number (SIN) based on the personal information printed on citizens' ID cards.
The Civil Administrative Consortium said during the weekend the plan was misguided because the current ID card system was insecure. It suggested the planned SIN instead be based on information collected by civil registration agency.
"We are all aware that ID cards contain inconsequential information that can change over time. The cards are also easily forged," said Ari Masyhuri, secretary general of the consortium.
The consortium said if ID cards became the basis for the SIN, only adults would qualify for the numbers. "Only people above 17 years are eligible to apply for ID cards, so what about our children? Chances are they will be denied public services," Ari said.
The House of Representatives and the government are currently deliberating a bill on civil registrations that sanctions the introduction of the SIN. In their last meeting, the government and the House special committee on the bill agreed on the need for every Indonesian citizen to have a single ID number.
The consortium has criticized the bill, saying it confuses demographic, administrative and civil affairs. Activists have also pointed out numerous flaws in the bill.
They say it contradicts the 2002 Child Protection Law that mandates free civil registrations for every newborn. "The bill does not mention whether registrations are free," Ari said.
It also gives 60-day grace period for people to apply for all civil registrations, while the child protection law states that the grace period is one year.
People's Legal Aid Institute executive director Suma Mihardja said the government's desire to introduce the SIN could be related to the Home Affairs Ministry's plan to create a multi-million dollar civil registration system.
"We have heard that a project worth Rp 500 billion (US$55 million) will soon kick-start once this law takes effect," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said the project would create a single identification system and produce a universal, forgery-proof ID card. "But we fear that such a project will be prone to corruption as has happened in the past," Suma said.