IO – Member of the House of Representatives (DPR)’s Legislation Committee from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan – “PDIP”) Faction Arteria Dahlan leveled sharp criticism at the Job Creation Draft Law. He questions the compliance of the Omnibus Law’s formulation with Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government. “I urge the Government to speak substance instead of rhetoric. I am asking you now: Has the creator of this Omnibus Law read Law Number 23 of 2014 thoroughly? I suspect that business people created it (instead of legitimate lawmakers),” he complained.
Arteria initially highlights the takeover of Regional Government authority by Central Government through the Job Creation Draft Law. The third section of the proposed Job Creation Draft Law concerning the Simplification of Business and Land Procurement Permit Basic Requirements states that the Regional Detailed Zoning Plan (RDTR) must be approved by the Central Government, and Regional Government must validate the RDTR approved by Central Government within a month.
Arteria points out that all provinces, regencies, and municipalities have the autonomy to administer themselves. Thus the transfer of authority from the Regional Government to Central Government in the context of zoning is plainly unconstitutional. There are only six fields that are absolutely within the jurisdiction of Central Government authority: Foreign politics, national defense and security, judicial affairs, national monetary policy, national fiscal situation and religion. “Zoning is not in the scope of the Central Government. Don’t turn it around – that’s not how the logic goes,” he said.
Coordinating Ministry of the Economy’s Expert Staff Elen Setiadi categorically denied Arteria’s statement. He said that the substance of the Job Creation Draft Law was fully determined by the Government. “Even though the Government does get input that we received from many sources and discussed, the outline of the Draft Law is according to the guidance given to us by our President,” he said.
Meanwhile, Member of the DPR’s Legislation Committee from the Functioning Group (Golongan Karya – “Golkar”) Faction Firman Subagyo criticized Arteria in turn. “When this Draft Law was formulated, we of the Golkar Party Faction expressed our support for the Government, whose president, Mr. Jokowi, comes from PDIP,” Firman stated in the Job Creation Draft Law Working Committee Meeting held on Tuesday (04/08/2020). “No minister would dare to take a step without the President’s clearance. Golkar has 32 years of experience in leading the Government during the New Order. We all know that President Jokowi first mentioned this Omnibus Law in his inauguration address on 20 October 2019. It is simply not done for anyone to suggest that the Job Creation Draft Law was created by parties other than the Government. We are all open to any input from relevant parties when discussing any law. There is nothing wrong with having businesses make suggestions – we take in opinions from NGOs, individuals, what’s wrong with that ?” he said.(dan)