Jakarta – Friday, September 25, 2025: The Indonesian House of Representatives’ Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) held the launch of a book and a public discussion related to the recommendations of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Working Committee (Panja OGP) and the International Organization Working Committee (Panja OI OECD BRICS). Both working committees were formed and have been working for six months to promote transparent and accountable governance.
The OGP Working Committee’s study provides recommendations to the government, including the urgency of legal and institutional OGP instruments in Indonesia; the alignment and strengthening of action plans; the strengthening of digital governance based on OGP principles; and assistance and monitoring of local OGP efforts.
The OGP Working Committee also recommends to the House of Representatives the strengthening of institutional structures and commitment to an open parliament; enhancing transparency and access to information; mainstreaming meaningful public participation; proactive parliamentary diplomacy; and the continuity of the working committee that upholds the values of OGP.
As a state institution with legislative, oversight, and budgeting functions, the House of Representatives plays a critical role in the implementation of Indonesia’s Open Government Partnership commitments, as laid out in the Open Government Indonesia National Action Plan (RAN OGI). This is fundamental because the commitments made by OGP member states generally require support and involvement from the parliament.
However, the role of the House of Representatives currently faces potential challenges from the practice of autocratic legalism. This practice allows the use of law to legitimize undemocratic actions. Autocratic legalism seeks to consolidate power and perpetuate certain political agendas through legal products that undermine democratic principles and constitutionalism. Therefore, public participation through co-creation with civil society within the OGP framework needs to be pushed toward a more ambitious direction, where civil society is not merely involved in formal mechanisms (tokenism), but as a critical partner in building a democratic system.
On the other hand, the House of Representatives, as a public institution, must have an internal commitment to apply and implement the values of transparency, accountability, and public participation in its work. In its previous membership period, the House initiated the formation of the Open Parliament Indonesia (OPI). However, over time, OPI “faded,” having only completed two separate action plans, namely the 2018-2020 and 2020-2022 OPI action plans, which were detached from the government’s action plans. Therefore, through the OGP Working Committee, the House is expected to revive OPI and continue the OGP institutional initiative within the House. Ideally, in the current membership period, the House should enhance the achievements of the previous period. Since the change in membership, the OPI initiative has diminished and been left behind. This means that the involvement of the House of Representatives in the OGP, which is being revived, needs to be accompanied by an independent commitment that includes concrete and ambitious steps to revive the initiative of an open parliament.
In response to this, the Civil Society Coalition for Open Government Indonesia demands the following:
- The House of Representatives needs to reactivate the OPI institution and involve as much public participation as possible, through mechanisms co-created with civil society groups, to encourage parliamentary reform that is transparent, accountable, and participatory. This should be accompanied by adequate institutional support so that OPI can perform its role optimally.
- The House should re-engage in overseeing the government’s performance in fulfilling OGP commitments, both those included in the RAN OGI and those in the independent RAN OPI. These commitments should be developed in a participatory manner by opening up as much public participation as possible, not just focusing on routine activities like TV Parliament, but ensuring the process is comprehensive and aligned with the principle of “meaningful public participation.”
- The House of Representatives, together with civil society groups, needs to develop internal regulations/procedures that include principles, indicators, and implementation guidelines for applying the principle of “meaningful public participation.” The development of these instruments should be done transparently and participatively so that the public can fully engage.
- The House should involve civil society in auditing the platforms used for lawmaking and the implementation of public participation in the legislative process, ensuring transparency of data access for the public and the right of the public to be heard, considered, and provided with explanations for every input given.
List of Civil Society Organizations for the Open Government Partnership in Indonesia:
- Indonesia Judicial Research Society (IJRS). Contact Person: office@ijrs.or.id
- International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID)
- Transparency International Indonesia (TII)
- Publish What You Pay (PWYP Indonesia)
- Perkumpulan untuk Pemilu dan Demokrasi (Perludem)
- Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI)
- Pusat Studi Hukum dan Kebijakan Indonesia (PSHK)
- Southeast Asian Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet)
- Indonesia Parliamentary Center (IPC)