JAKARTA - The existence of the National Defense Council (DPN) has once again drawn criticism from academics and political observers. The institution formed through Presidential Regulation Number 202 of 2024 is considered to have the potential to expand the concentration of power, create overlapping authorities, and burden the state's finances in the midst of an economic condition that is considered not yet stable.
The criticism emerged in a public discussion entitled "Questioning the National Defense Council: The Danger of Shifting the President's Executive Functions in the Design of State Defense" which was held in Jakarta, Wednesday, May 20.
Binus University Law Faculty, Muhammad Reza Syarifuddin Zaki, said the public is now waiting for President Prabowo Subianto's attitude to evaluate and even stop the existence of the DPN.
"The existence of the DPN is useless, multi-interpretable, and burdens the state's money, as well as depriving the public of their rights in the midst of a weakening rupiah and a squeezed economy," said Reza.
According to him, the establishment of state institutions should consider the aspects of effectiveness and impact of regulations through the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) approach. Reza questioned whether DPN was really relevant to the current government's needs.
He assessed that the institutional design of the DPN also did not provide adequate oversight space for civil society. In addition, the existence of the DPN Daily Chairman, which is held by the Minister of Defense, is considered to have the potential to create a power duality.
"Ini harus dilihat sebagai shadow kekuasaan. Di satu sisi sebagai Menteri Pertahanan, tetapi juga merangkap Ketua Harian Dewan Pertahanan Nasional," katanya.
Reza assessed that the strategic coordination function could actually be carried out through the coordinating ministry without the need to form a new institution funded by the state budget.
"In the midst of economic conditions like now, the President should focus on solving economic problems and weakening the rupiah, not forming new institutions whose urgency is not clear," he said.
He added that the budget for the DPN was considered potentially reducing fiscal space for other public needs such as education, health, and social development.
"If the DPN is still maintained, it is the same as slowly taking the rights of the community, both in the village and in the city," he said.
In line with this, the Academic of Political Science at the National University, Firdaus Syam, assessed that the existence of the DPN has the potential to disrupt the principle of good governance and expand the function of defense into the civilian realm.
"In a modern democratic system, good governance is characterized by a lean institutional structure, not by a bloated bureaucracy," said Firdaus.
He highlighted the composition of the DPN which involves many ministries as well as the provisions of Article 3 letter F in the Presidential Decree on the formation of the DPN which is considered multi-interpretable because it opens up room for the President to give other tasks.
"This article is prone to abuse. Moreover, the Chairman of the DPN Harian is held by the Minister of Defense," he said.
Firdaus reminded that the function of defense is basically inherent in the TNI institution. Therefore, the expansion of the meaning of defense to various civilian sectors is feared to create overlapping authorities.
"If it is not restricted and closely monitored, the authority of the DPN can penetrate into many sectors," he said.
Previously, a number of academics and democracy activists had also criticized the existence of the DPN because it was considered to have the potential to shift the functions of other institutions such as Lemhannas and increase the dominance of defense actors in making strategic policy for the country.
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