From Amanah to Accountability: Reframing Public Transparency in Indonesia through Fiqh Siyasah and Constitutional Governance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70826/jsisnu.v3i2.1921Keywords:
Amanah, Constitutional Governance, Public Accountability, Public TransparencyAbstract
Public transparency is a fundamental principle of constitutional governance, yet the disclosure of information does not automatically ensure accountability, integrity, or effective public oversight. In Indonesia, the implementation of public information disclosure requires a stronger normative and institutional foundation to bridge the gap between formal legal obligations and accountable administrative practices. Islamic political thought, particularly the principle of amānah, offers an ethical perspective for strengthening this foundation. This study aims to reconstruct the normative relationship between amānah in fiqh siyasah and constitutional accountability and to formulate an amānah-based framework for public transparency in Indonesia. This research employs normative legal research using statutory, conceptual, and analytical approaches. Primary legal materials, including the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and Law No. 14 of 2008 on Public Information Disclosure, are examined alongside scholarly literature on Islamic political ethics, transparency, and public accountability. The materials are analyzed qualitatively through descriptive, interpretative, and argumentative techniques. The findings indicate that amānah provides an ethical foundation for treating public authority as a trust that must be exercised responsibly, while constitutional governance establishes enforceable obligations and institutional procedures. Effective transparency therefore requires more than information publication. It encompasses accessible disclosure, intelligible information, reasoned explanations, institutional scrutiny, corrective mechanisms, and proportionate protection of confidential information. Integrating these dimensions can strengthen the normative coherence of Indonesia’s transparency framework. Public institutions should improve the implementation of public information disclosure through measurable service standards, accessible digital information, transparent refusal procedures, and effective review mechanisms. Further empirical research is needed to assess the framework’s practical effectiveness.
Downloads
References
Al-Mawardi. (1996). The ordinances of government: Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah (W. H. Wahba, Trans.). Garnet Publishing.
Auda, J. (2008). Maqasid al-Shariah as philosophy of Islamic law: A systems approach. International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Bauhr, M., & Grimes, M. (2014). Indignation or resignation: The implications of transparency for societal accountability. Governance, 27(2), 291–320. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12033
Bhat, P. I. (2020). Idea and methods of legal research. Oxford University Press.
Birchall, C. (2014). Radical transparency? Cultural studies and the materiality of transparency. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, 14(1), 77–88. [Verify publication details before submission.]
Bovens, M. (2007). Analysing and assessing accountability: A conceptual framework. European Law Journal, 13(4), 447–468. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0386.2007.00378.x
Butt, S. (2015). [The specific publication cited in the manuscript requires bibliographic verification before inclusion.]
Cucciniello, M., Porumbescu, G. A., & Grimmelikhuijsen, S. (2017). 25 years of transparency research: Evidence and future directions. Public Administration Review, 77(1), 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12685
Fox, J. (2007). The uncertain relationship between transparency and accountability. Development in Practice, 17(4–5), 663–671. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614520701469955
Fung, A., Graham, M., & Weil, D. (2007). Full disclosure: The perils and promise of transparency. Cambridge University Press.
Grimmelikhuijsen, S., Porumbescu, G., Hong, B., & Im, T. (2013). The effect of transparency on trust in government: A cross-national comparative experiment. Public Administration Review, 73(4), 575–586. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12047
Heald, D. (2006). Varieties of transparency. In C. Hood & D. Heald (Eds.), Transparency: The key to better governance? (pp. 25–43). Oxford University Press.
Hood, C. (2010). Accountability and transparency: Siamese twins, matching parts, awkward couple? West European Politics, 33(5), 989–1009. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2010.486122
Hutchinson, T., & Duncan, N. (2012). Defining and describing what we do: Doctrinal legal research. Deakin Law Review, 17(1), 83–119. https://doi.org/10.21153/dlr2012vol17no1art70
Ibn Taymiyyah. (1988). Al-Siyasah al-shar‘iyyah. [The exact edition, publisher, and translation used must be specified.]
Janssen, M., Charalabidis, Y., & Zuiderwijk, A. (2012). Benefits, adoption barriers and myths of open data and open government. Information Systems Management, 29(4), 258–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/10580530.2012.716740
Kamali, M. H. (2008). Shari‘ah law: An introduction. Oneworld Publications.
Kitchin, R. (2014). The data revolution: Big data, open data, data infrastructures and their consequences. SAGE Publications.
Kosack, S., & Fung, A. (2014). Does transparency improve governance? Annual Review of Political Science, 17, 65–87. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-032210-144356
Lindstedt, C., & Naurin, D. (2010). Transparency is not enough: Making transparency effective in reducing corruption. International Political Science Review, 31(3), 301–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512110377602
Meijer, A. (2013). Understanding the complex dynamics of transparency. Public Administration Review, 73(3), 429–439. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12032
Michener, G., & Bersch, K. (2013). Identifying transparency. Information Polity, 18(3), 233–242. https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-130299
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2026). Anti-corruption and integrity outlook 2026: Indonesia. OECD. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/anti-corruption-and-integrity-outlook-2026_0c8910f8-en/indonesia_a0698c8a-en.html
Roberts, A. (2006). Blacked out: Government secrecy in the information age. Cambridge University Press.
Sakapurnama, E., & Safitri, N. (2013). [The specific publication cited in the manuscript requires bibliographic verification before inclusion.]
Stiglitz, J. E. (1999). On liberty, the right to know, and public discourse: The role of transparency in public life. [Verify the publication venue and edition of the version cited.]
Republic of Indonesia. (1945). The Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia of 1945, as amended.
Republic of Indonesia. (2008). Law No. 14 of 2008 concerning Public Information Disclosure.
Republic of Indonesia. (2010). Government Regulation No. 61 of 2010 concerning the Implementation of Law No. 14 of 2008 concerning Public Information Disclosure.
Republic of Indonesia. (2021). Information Commission Regulation No. 1 of 2021 concerning Public Information Service Standards.
Republic of Indonesia. (2022). Law No. 27 of 2022 concerning Personal Data Protection.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jurnal Sahabat ISNU SU

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.










