The problem is, transforming Bakamla into a coast guard contravenes Law 17/2008 on Shipping. That is what the (maritime/shipping) legal experts, one of whom is Soleman B. Pontoh, opine. He believes that in the regulation the coast guard’s existence is stated in paragraph 14, which reads, “In addition to the above matter, what is also strictly and clearly regulated in this law is the formation of a sea and coast guard, which is set and is responsible to the President and its operations, technically, are carried out by a minister. The sea and coast guard has a command function in enforcing rules in shipping safety and security and a coordinating function in law enforcement outside of shipping safety. The sea and coast guard represents the empowerment of a maritime security coordinating agency and the strengthening of the sea and coast guard unit. It is expected that with this arrangement, the enforcement of rules in shipping safety and security can be conducted in an integrated and well-coordinated manner, to prevent any authority overlap at sea, which could tarnish Indonesia’s image in international relations.”
It means that to form a coast guard, one must refer to Shipping Law 17/2008, and the procedure for formation is already clearly regulated (article 281).
Again, the revision of Maritime Affairs Law 32/2014 is completely acceptable. However, keep in mind that it may result in the following. The revision will be pointless, because it will change nothing. It has no effect on the Transportation Ministry; therefore, the Ministry can blithely ignore any revision decisions. The enforcer of Law 32/2014 is the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister. Hence, it will be impossible for him to regulate shipping safety and security, and at the same time, regulation of safety and security at sea.
Furthermore, the revision can lead to legal uncertainty at sea, causing sea freight insurance costs to soar. Shipping companies will become victims of unlawful law enforcement, whereby the ship captain always becomes a hostage. The revision of Law 32/2014 violates legal principles; thus, it can easily face judicial review at the Constitutional Court. Regarding the situation in the South China Sea, the revision of Maritime Law 32/2014 will not have much impact because, once again, Bakamla’s existence and authority will not change much. Last, but not least, the price of goods will skyrocket.
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Long story short, the people are split into two sides regarding the issue of the Indonesian coast guard formation; the “pro” agrees on merging the existing agencies into Bakamla, while the “con” is against such a merger. Nevertheless, one point should be underlined: Indonesia needs such an agency as soon as possible. If the revision of Law 32/2014 will not solve many problems in the national maritime field, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi must intervene. Hopefully, he can immediately submit a government regulation plan for coast guard formation, as mandated by the 2008 Shipping Law.
Bakamla will fiercely respond to this move. It does not matter, though. The Ministry is a strong institution and even more powerful than the Bakamla. What is needed is his fearlessness to confront the “plot” concocted to torpedo the Transportation Ministry’s integrity. The question is, does he have it?