Highlighting Prison SOPs, Members Of Commission III Of The House Of Representatives Ask Officials Of The Ministry Of Law And Human Rights To Be Responsible For The Tangerang Penitentiary Fire

Tangerang/ANTARA Prison

JAKARTA - Member of Commission III of the House of Representatives, Jazilul Fawaid, assessed that all parties who have authorities related to correctional institutions must be responsible for the fire incident in the Class I prison in Tangerang. Jazilul highlighted the Menkum HAM Yasonna Laoly and the Director General of Corrections (PAS).

"The existing apparatus must be responsible for the deaths of 41 people, even though this was an accident," Jazilul said, confirmed by VOI, Thursday, September 9.

Jazilul said he was surprised that the fire that occurred in the early hours of the morning killed 41 inmates.

"In the security prison system, there is an SOP, this happened at 2 pm. Did all of them fall asleep? Or how about scheduling? It's an old prison, how about electricity cables or other installations that can have fatal consequences for inmates," he asked.

Jazilul revealed the fact that the Tangerang City Class I prison was over capacity. In fact, this prison case of overcrowding does not only occur in Lapas I Tangerang, but also in many other prisons in Indonesia.

Therefore, Jazilul who is also the Deputy Chair of the MPR considered that there needs to be a grand design or a new pattern of approach in handling prisons. Because, said Jazilul, the budget for correctional facilities is always lacking so that the prison building cannot meet the needs of inmates. On the other hand, the crime rate continues to grow.

“We can no longer use the current approach for certain cases. There needs to be a new approach to prison management. If the budget is temporarily short, there will be no new approach to prison policy," he explained.

"On the other hand, the dynamics of criminality continues to develop, so I think correctional experts, legal experts, must come together to find solutions. If we wait for the budget to be completed, I am sure that in 5 to 10 years it will not be done while the crime rate is increasing," he continued.

Gus Jazil, as he is known, said that the problem of budget shortages does not only occur in prisons, but also in other institutions and ministries. Moreover, the country is currently experiencing a crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There needs to be a new policy in the correctional sector after seeing prisons everywhere experiencing over capacity, especially drug prisons. My suggestion, the government and all of us should think about a new concept of correctional facilities,” he explained.

When it comes to budget shortfalls, according to Gus Jazil, in the midst of a country's crisis, it will be difficult to find a solution to the budget approach.

Therefore, he added, the government and the DPR are currently discussing the Draft Law (RUU) on Amendments to Law Number 12 of 1995 concerning Corrections.

So, said Gus Jazil, fresh ideas are needed as input so that there is a new model that is more appropriate in dealing with social problems.