TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Mahendra Siregar promoted the effectiveness of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation in front of Japanese entrepreneurs during the Indonesia-Japan Virtual Business Forum today, October 14, 2020.

“The main objective of the Omnibus Law is to trim the bureaucratic chain and overcome inefficiency and corruption that often hinder the investment climate,” said Mahendra at the online event.

Mahendra assured the Japanese business players that the new law would open opportunities for Indonesia to create more competitive and productive jobs as it simplifies the licensing.

The government had scrapped and revised 79 laws containing 1,260 articles. This deregulation was claimed to bring good impacts on the ease of investment, business climate, and the conduct of research.

The law, he added, would also facilitate investors to develop economic zones and provide them lands through a faster process.

Mahendra hoped the new law would boost Japan's level of confidence in Indonesia’s investment climate albeit in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is proven that amid the crisis, Indonesia carries out legal reforms that have never happened before," he added.

The parliament passed the Job Creation Law on October 5, 2020. Civil society and labor unions strongly rejected the enactment of the contentious bill into law because it was considered to violate workers' rights and even threaten environmental sustainability.

Read: Walhi: Job Creation Omnibus Law Rolls Out Red Carpet for Corporations

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA