Scoop-a-poop

Friend Treespotter has uncovered a really shocking misuse of private information. This link provides "some links backgrounder and a rudimentary legal framework on the matter".

If, like Jakartass, you have a child in the Indonesian school system, whether state, private or a mixture of the two, the Department of Education has had the wisdom, though I would call it crass stupidity, to post online the names, gender, date and place of birth, and addresses of nearly all school students in Indonesia.

What's the problem? some might ask.

There have been several cases recently when students have been kidnapped for ransom. The Jakarta Post, among other media, dutifully report these cases and what is usually a 'successful' outcome, i.e. the capture of the callous and greedy bastards who commit such dastardly deeds.

Now those of us with children with expat names, or those born in, say, California, are particularly at risk of being targetted because there could well be an assumption of great wealth, whether true or not.

Then there's the issue of the fundamental right to privacy, and its protection. It doesn't matter who you are, but the giving of such information should only be to those with a statutory right to collect it. To allow it into the public domain without permission from the schools, let alone parents, is quite simply beyond comprehension.

(Although it wouldn't take much effort to discover my 'real' name, I still prefer to keep Jakartass as my public persona, not so much to protect Our Kid, but to prevent my family and friends from the rancour and occasional invective that my rants may attract.)

I'm not going to publish the URL, but if any of my Indonesia-based readers are also sufficiently concerned to raise this issue, I'll post an online petition to the dickheads of Diknas. Please email me if you think this would be an appropriate action or can think of something better.

Update Tues. 5.30am
The lists have been taken offline, although it will obviously take time for the Google caches to clear.

Given that we have yet to read about this issue in the media, can we claim that the Indonesian blogosphere can claim a victory of sorts?
 

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¶ 7:00 pm