Arguments on information secrecy made by Public Agencies in Indonesia: A case study in the disputes over access to information, 2010-2016

Public information transparency is one of the instruments to monitor how well government organizations cater to the people. The Public Information Disclosure Act of 2018, which obligates government institutions to disclose information to the public, arose due to the law and the demand from the people. This article is focused on the secrecy arguments that were presented by public agencies during the information dispute. These government organizations have not yet fully catered to the people in a proactive manner. Ironically, part of the allegedly confidential information is supposed to be proactively declared to the public. From 2010-2016 there were 232 non-litigation adjudication decisions by the Central Information Commission. Public agencies have refused to provide information by offering a variety of arguments, such as the information requested is a state secret, the applicant is not entitled to the requested information, and the information requested may be misused.