Jakarta, 31 May 2015 – The term of office of the commissioners of the Central Information Commission (KIP) will end on 2 June 2013. Activist from the Regional Research and Information Center (PATTIRO), Bejo Untung, revealed that up to now the selection process for KIP commissioner candidates is in the hands of the president to narrow it down to 21 names.

“When the term of office ends, all information disputes will become a big question mark,” he said together with a coalition of NGOs advocating for the KIP Law when they visited the Republika Daily, Thursday (30/5).

Apart from clarifying the status of commissioners, Untung also highlighted the lack of transparency in the selection process. Since March, the Selection Committee (Pansel) has not disclosed the 21 names submitted to the President.

“In fact, the information is that 28 names were deposited following last year’s practice,” he said. His party asked that the names of the prospective commissioners be disclosed by the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kemkominfo). According to Untung, the Ministry of Communication and Information admitted that it would reveal the names of prospective commissioners after being submitted to the president.

On that occasion, Untung asked the government to speed up the selection process for the new KIP commissioners. Even if the new KIP commissioner has not been elected by the June 2 deadline, he urged the government to issue a decision to extend the term of office of the old KIP members.

This step is important to take so that there is no vacancy in the position of KIP commissioner. Because if the position of KIP commissioner becomes vacant after June 2, then a number of information disclosure cases will be neglected.

However, Untung doubts that the government has prepared anticipatory steps regarding the vacancy of the KIP commissioner. He believes that the government tends to neglect preparing anticipatory steps. “We are pessimistic because June 2 is the end of the position of KIP commissioner. After that, legally the position of KIP commissioner is vacant,” he said.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) activist Tama S Langkun said the coalition had a role in the selection process for potential commissioners. The results of the independent search by the coalition were used by the Panel in the interview process. “But when we asked for information, the ministry was closed,” he said. He asked the president to learn from the slowness in selecting commissioners for Komnas HAM and KPI.

* This news is quoted from the May 31, 2015 edition of the Daily Republika