Jakarta, Friday, September 25, 2025 – The Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Body (BKSAP) of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) held a book launch and public discussion on the recommendations of the Open Government Parliament Working Committee (Panja OGP) and the International Organization Working Committee (Panja OI OECD BRICS). Both committees were established and worked over a period of six (6) months in an effort to realize transparent and accountable governance.
The Panja OGP’s study produced several recommendations to the government, including: the urgency of legal and institutional instruments for OGP in Indonesia; alignment and strengthening of the action plan; strengthening digital governance based on OGP principles; and assistance and monitoring of local OGP initiatives.
The Panja OGP also provided recommendations to the DPR RI itself, namely: strengthening the institution and commitment to an open parliament; enhancing transparency and access to information; mainstreaming meaningful public participation; proactive parliamentary diplomacy; and ensuring the sustainability of the committee in upholding OGP values.
As a state institution with legislative, oversight, and budgetary functions, the DPR RI has a highly significant role in implementing Indonesia’s Open Government Partnership commitments, as outlined in the National Action Plan for Open Government Indonesia (RAN OGI). This role is fundamental, as the commitments made by OGP member countries generally require parliamentary support and involvement.
Nevertheless, the DPR’s role also faces the challenge of potential practices of autocratic legalism. Such practices allow the use of law to legitimize undemocratic actions—consolidating power and perpetuating certain political agendas through legal products that undermine the principles of democracy and constitutionalism. Therefore, public participation through co-creation with civil society within the OGP framework must be encouraged to move in a more ambitious direction—where civil society is not only involved in formal mechanisms (tokenism), but is recognized as a critical partner in governance.
On the other hand, as a public institution, the DPR must also commit internally to implementing the values of transparency, accountability, and public participation in its own work. In the previous parliamentary term, the DPR initiated the establishment of Open Parliament Indonesia (OPI). However, OPI later became “dormant,” having only completed two separate action plans—namely OPI Action Plan 2018–2020 and 2020–2022—detached from the government’s national action plan. Through the Panja OGP, the DPR is now expected to revive OPI and continue OGP institutional initiatives in parliament. Ideally, the current parliamentary term should achieve more progress than the previous one. Since the change of membership, the OPI initiative has faded and been abandoned. Thus, the DPR’s renewed involvement in OGP must be followed by an independent commitment with concrete and ambitious steps to revive the initiative for an open parliament.
In light of these concerns, the Civil Society Coalition for Open Government Indonesia demands the following:
- The DPR must reactivate the OPI institution and ensure the broadest possible public participation, through co-creation mechanisms with civil society organizations, to drive parliamentary reform that is transparent, accountable, and participatory. This must be supported by adequate institutional resources to enable OPI to function optimally.
- The DPR must re-engage in overseeing government performance in implementing OGP commitments, both those contained in the RAN OGI and those in a separate, independent RAN OPI. These commitments must be developed participatorily, ensuring meaningful public participation, and must not be limited to routine activities such as Parliament TV but instead be comprehensive.
- The DPR, together with civil society, must draft internal rules/regulations that establish principles, indicators, and guidelines for implementing “meaningful public participation.” The drafting process must be transparent and participatory, allowing full public involvement.
- The DPR must involve civil society in auditing the legislative platforms and the mechanisms for public participation in law-making. This audit must ensure open access to legislative data and guarantee the public’s right to be heard, considered, and provided with explanations for every input submitted.
Civil Society Organizations for Open Government Indonesia:
- Indonesia Judicial Research Society (IJRS) – Contact: office@ijrs.or.id
- International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID)
- Transparency International Indonesia (TII)
- Publish What You Pay (PWYP Indonesia)
- Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem)
- Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI)
- Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK)
- Southeast Asian Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet)
- Indonesia Parliamentary Center (IPC)