There Is An Article That Has Been Deleted, Observer: Evidence Of A Messy Job Creation Act

Illustrated (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The statement by the Chairman of the Legislation Body (Baleg) of the DPR RI, Supratman Andi Agtas, regarding the existence of one article that was removed from the text of the Omnibus Law on Employment is considered surprising and should be proof that this law is chaotic.

Researcher of the Indonesian Parliament Concern Community Forum (Formappi) Lucius Karus even said Andi's statement that said the article should have been deleted from the start because it was not approved during the discussion but was accidentally re-inserted also raises questions.

"The State Secretariat's acknowledgment of the elimination of provisions related to oil and gas is proof that the Job Creation Law is chaotic. It is very inappropriate for a law to contain articles that are not even recognized by the creators," Lucius told reporters, Friday, 23 October.

Andi's clarification was also considered annoying because after convincing the public that no articles were changed, later after the manuscript was submitted to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) the change actually happened. Apart from that, the clarification from the Chairman of the DPR RI Baleg also did not indicate any remorse, so it suggests that tinkering with articles is a common thing in making legislation products.

"It is as if what happened was something normal, as if tinkering with articles has become commonplace, so there is no need to be sorry," he said.

In fact, apart from showing that the Job Creation Law is a product of chaotic legislation, the statement can also be considered that the existing Job Creation text is a hoax. Lucius also suspects that the abolition of this article is not just to clear up negligence but because Article 46 regarding oil and natural gas is a contraband article.

"I see a potential crime behind the mess of manuscripts and the contents of the Ciptaker Law as revealed through the abolition by the State Secretariat," he said.

So, reflecting on these allegations, Lucius then urged legal and political accountability. The police or the prosecutor's office, he said, must trace the drafting of the Job Creation Law to prove the motive for the existence of the article deleted by the Ministry of State Secretary (Kemensetneg).

Meanwhile, from the political side, Lucius urged President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to issue a Government Regulation in Lieu of a Law (Perppu) to cancel the Job Creation Law which was flawed in legitimacy.

"The confusion over the text should motivate the president politically to use his authority to cancel this law," he said.

"The president must take this seriously for himself because he can be considered as designing a law whose contents cannot be accounted for," he added.

Previously, the Chairman of the Legislative Body (Baleg) of the DPR RI Supratman Andi Agtas admitted that there was one missing article in the Job Creation Law which was again changed to 1,187 pages, namely Article 46 concerning the Regulating Agency for the Distribution of Oil and Gas.

The change in this page was initially recognized by the government when it submitted the text of the Job Creation Law to the Muhammadiyah Central Board (PP) which was 1,187 pages thick. In fact, previously the DPR submitted an 812-page text to the government.

"Regarding Article 46 which underwent corrections, it is true. So, incidentally the State Secretariat found it, it should have been deleted," said Supratman when confirmed, Thursday, October 22.

Supratman said, in the discussion of the Job Creation Law before it was passed, the government wanted a transfer of toll fee authority from BPH Migas to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM). This was stated at the DPR RI Working Committee meeting. However, Panja did not accept the proposal and it was unclear why the DPR RI Baleg had missed changing the government's proposal contained in Article 46.

"But in the written manuscript that we sent to the State Secretariat, it turns out that there are still paragraphs 1-4. Because there is no change, the State Secretariat clarifies it to Baleg," said Supratman.

That is why Article 46 was deleted in the Job Creation Law which has now become 1,187 pages. "It should have been deleted, because it returns to the existing law, so it is not in the Job Creation Act," he said.