How citizens in Asia Pacific are using information to fight corruption

Just like you, we often wonder about the best ways to fight corruption. You might be surprised to learn that sometimes, asking a simple question is the best answer.

Through Right to Information (RTI) laws, people are entitled to request public information and data about decisions that affect them. Across the Asia Pacific region, citizens are increasingly taking advantage of these rights, empowering themselves to participate more actively in democratic processes and hold authorities accountable, one RTI request at a time.

Take Sri Lanka as an example, where parents were often being asked to “donate” money to public schools for both curricular and extracurricular activities. These expected contributions placed a heavy burden on families, especially on those with lower incomes. However, in 2024, Transparency International Sri Lanka, through their Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC), decided to ask the simple question: Is this even legal?

Using the country’s RTI Act, they uncovered that these donations were not only unfair, but also unlawful. The ALAC didn’t stop there. Through advocacy and raising awareness in local newspapers, they prompted the Ministry of Education to take action. The result? A new notice was issued banning government schools from collecting donations. Free education was reaffirmed, and families were relieved from the burden.

In the Maldives, people with disabilities are often left out of conversations about their rights. To end that, Transparency International Maldives, in collaboration with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), organised a RTI training session specifically for individuals with disabilities. The goal? Teach them how to use the Mahoali portal – the country’s online RTI platform.

The session had an immediate impact, with several participants submitting RTI requests on the spot. One of those requests involved gathering more information on corruption allegations involving a government official. Transparency International Maldives helped escalate the case to the Anti-Corruption Commission and supported the whistleblower in filing a complaint with the Human Rights Commission. But the story doesn’t end there. The feedback from the training session was taken directly to the ICO, who work with the developers of the Mahoali portal. By doing so, our colleagues in the Maldives not only empowered people to fight corruption but also ensured that everyone could participate in that fight.

In Pakistan, an RTI law was passed in the region of Balochistan in 2021; however, a key element was missing: the Information Commission, which was legally mandated to be established within four months of the law’s enactment. For marginalised communities, this was more than a bureaucratic delay. It was a denial of their right to ask questions about decisions that affected their lives.

Our colleagues at Transparency International Pakistan were determined to change that. In 2024, they wrote directly to the Chief Minister of Balochistan, reminding him of the law’s requirements and highlighting how the delay was hurting Pakistan’s global reputation. Their call did not go unheard, and civil society groups also advocated for it. The pressure worked. By November that year, the Balochistan Information Commission was finally established.

Since then, they have continued to work with communities traditionally excluded from formal complaint systems. This year, citizens in Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa began submitting RTI applications with the support of our chapter.

These three examples highlight that RTI is not just a legal tool, but a catalyst for civic empowerment. Whether it’s protecting free education, ensuring inclusion, or establishing oversight bodies, RTI is helping citizens reclaim their power.