Jakarta - The Executive Office of the President (KSP) continues to affirm its commitment to support the Open Government vision as shown from several transparent public programs run by the office, including the KSP Listening program and Agrarian Reform.
The commitment to Open Government was strongly expressed by the Presidential Chief of Staff, Dr. Moeldoko in a joint coordination meeting with The National Development Planning Ministry (Bappenas), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) represented by International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) as part of the Indonesian Open Government (OGI) steering committee on Tuesday (3/8).
“Our nation is still very sensitive when it comes to openness. However, I think it is true that we are far beyond our imagination regarding open government,” said Moeldoko.
Moeldoko added the collaboration between the government and the civil society has been concretely implemented to ensure more transparent governance. For instance, the office has been working together with the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesian Army (TNI)/National Police, other related ministerial offices and CSOs to accelerate the resolution of agrarian conflicts.
According to the KSP data in the 2015-2021, the office has received at least 1,191 complaints of agrarian conflict cases,251 of which are related to forestry disputes.
The resolution of agrarian conflict has indeed become one of the main priorities of the Agrarian Reform program that is being intensively carried out by the administration of the President Joko Widodo. The resolution, mandated by the President, must involve cross-sectors efforts and civil society’s roles.
"In addition, the national strategy program to prevent corruption, in which KSP was appointed as a member of the national team, always involves the role of civil society, in ensuring the transparent implementation as well as the trusted monitoring and evaluation process," he added.
Moeldoko went on to say that the KSP Hearing program became one of the government's real commitments to support a clean and transparent government who welcomes critics. This program, he said, also aimed to absorb the aspirations and concerns of the community, especially among students, workers, small business actors, and so on.
“It is about whether or not the administrators are strong enough to be criticized, that’s the biggest question. Through KSP Hearing, we prove that we are not anti-criticism,” said Moeldoko.
The Chief of Staff also said that Indonesia's progress and achievements in implementing the Open Government needed to be shown to the world.
He hoped the implemented programs run by KSP can become a model for other Ministries and Institutions to uphold transparency and to provide a more humane approach to the community.
Alongside the United States, Britain, Norway, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and the Philippines, Indonesia was one of the initiators of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) which was established in 2011. OGP is a global partnership initiative that brings together government leaders and civil society advocates to create a unique partnership—one that combines these powerful forces to promote transparent, participatory, inclusive and accountable governance.
OGP plans to hold a Global Summit next December in Seoul, South Korea. Indonesia is also expected to be a role model for the world, showcased as a country with a strong commitment to transparent and inclusive government.
“Transparency is one of the strongest legacies of President Joko Widodo’s administration. This can be proven by multiple inclusive policies such as one map, one data policy, social assistance programs, land legalization and so on,” said Yanuar Nugroho, the OGP Envoy for Indonesia.
He also said that the good level of transparency and openness of the Indonesian government can also be seen from the national vaccination program.
"We have strong leverage in terms of vaccination and this proves that we are one of the countries that are inclusive and transparent in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic," he added.
