The Rush And Risk Of Managing The Omnibus Law

Gedung DPR RI. (Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - The draft law on Job Creation has not yet been accepted by the DPR. This bill is still far from being discussed, even though President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has instructed that it be completed as quickly as possible. However, merging many laws into one is not easy.

Legal expert Bivitri Susanti said, if you look at the perspective of the law, the merging of 79 laws with the number of articles affected reaching 1,229 and still possibly increasing, cannot be done quickly.

However, Bivitri emphasized that the law is a product of the DPR, where the steps are political. If we talk about politics, according to him, legal calculations cannot be used. Moreover, said Bivitri, previously the DPR was able to overhaul the KPK Bill in a very short time.

"I don't think it will be enough, but I don't know. Look, we know that the KPK Law Revision (Bill) only takes 13 days. So I think if we talk about politics, we don't talk about legal calculations. "But normally it won't be enough," he said, when contacted by VOI, in Jakarta, Saturday, February 1.

Bivitri assessed that it is not impossible that the Job Creation Bill will end like the KPK Bill. Moreover, the majority of DPR members are Jokowi supporters.

"But we know that 74 percent of DPR members are supporters of Pak Jokowi. And there are bad practices from DPR members that might be done again. So, I don't know, I can't predict yet," he said.

The Job Creation Bill is the duty of every working citizen. Therefore, Bivitri said, the entire community should not be careless. The course of the discussion process must always be monitored.

Moreover, said Bivitri, Law number 12 of 2011 clearly states that the making of laws requires public participation. So the community must guard not only the Job Creation Bill, but also for all laws, because that will regulate us all.

The Omnibus Law on Job Creation or the 'sweep the universe' law has not yet been discussed, but the wave of resistance is already evident. Bivitri assessed that this rejection also originated from the government's lack of transparency.

"We all also know that the government is very closed. So that we do not have an official draft," he said.

Actually, although the draft of the Job Creation Bill has not yet been submitted to the DPR, the minister responsible for this matter is Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto has already visited the DPR. When it was said, the aim was to equalize perceptions regarding the bill.

Researchers of the Indonesian Parliament Concern Community Forum (Formappi) assessed that the aim of ministers to visit the DPR is to ensure that the Job Creation Bill can run smoothly without rejection by factions. So that from the start, it was certain that the process would be fast.

"So I think political communication with the DPR is for that purpose. How can the discussion process not be too long-winded because it serves one or two factions in the DPR. So that from the start they have the same perception on crucial matters, so that the discussion process will be easier," he said.

Even though Jokowi has corrected the time, which was originally 100 days as a gift for Eid. However, if you see there is no significant change in time. The total time required is still not far from 100, considering that there are only four months to that time.

"I think maybe the rude language is inconsiderate. That Jokowi has the ambition to finish quickly and he ensures it is in his hands, all of his supporters. So that whatever is in the draft there will not be much protested by the DPR," he said.

The Job Creation Bill has the potential for rejection. The risks faced by the government are not insignificant, if the discussion process is only concerned with time and ignores the interests of the community.

"The biggest risk will be a wave of protests from workers, civilian groups opposing this law. If critical voices that emerge from society today are not given space in the discussion process. Not transparent, but even if they are transparent, they still insist on not listening to it. will also get resistance, "he said.