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Tue, February 7, 2012
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Tests Show Bali Agencies Not Yet Ready For Information Law, Researcher Says
Made Arya Kencana | July 09, 2010

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Denpasar. A month-long test at various government institutions in Bali shows they are not prepared to implement the 2008 Freedom of Information Law, a researcher said on Thursday.

At a discussion on the province’s preparedness to implement the law, Sloka Institute researcher Agus Sumberdana said the test was a simple one, to request access to 50 documents deemed to be of public interest, from government bodies in several districts.

“Most of the bodies failed to pass the test,” Agus said. “They tended to forward the request to other institutions, or even question the validity of the applicant’s request.”

He cited the case of data on the forestry sector in Bali, in which applicants had been told by the Forestry Ministry either to cross-check with other departments or submit a proposal to gain access to the documents.

A proposal was also cited as a prerequisite for the release of information from the Denpasar Parks and Sanitation Office, where officials differed on what the procedure was.

Others were even told to attach a recommendation letter from their local neighborhood administration.

Candra Dewi, who heads the information bureau at the Denpasar Communications and Information Office, acknowledged there was no clear procedure in place on providing information to the public.

“This lack of clarity also hampers our own work,” she said, adding that a regulation on the issue would clear things up.

However, she said local-government offices were slowly adjusting to the law by applying it in certain divisions. Each office now had a dedicated official in charge of information, while their Web sites openly revealed the proceedings and results of auctions held by that office.

“We’ve also proposed the formation of an information commission,” Dewi said.

The Law on Freedom of Information was enacted two years ago but only came into effect at the end of April this year.