ICEL: Job Creation Bill Irrelevant, Limits Public Involvement

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Executive Director of the Indonesian Centre for Environmental Law (ICEL), Raynaldo Sembiring, has asked for the current draft of the Job Creation Bill (RUU Cipta Kerja) to be dropped, as he sees the current Bill to be irrelevant in creating more employment opportunities.

“This is the wrong response to the problems that the lawmakers are trying to solve. I’m sure we can all agree that, although it is called the ‘Job Creation Bill,’ it’s all about the simplification of permits. However, there is no relevance between the simplification of permits and achieving prosperity for the people,” said Raynaldo, in an online seminar, on Wednesday, April 15, 2020.

He evaluated the philosophical foundation of the Job Creation Bill to be article 27 paragraph 2 of the constitution, stipulating that the government needs to make efforts to fulfill and guarantee decent work and lives for the Indonesian people. 

Although the simplification of permits through deregulation might be necessary, the government is only simplifying its own responsibilities by attracting businesses and giving them permits; with the hope that article 27 of the constitution will then be fulfilled. This means, Raynaldo continued, that the government is relying on the private sector to fulfill what should be the state’s responsibility.

“There is no concrete roadmap to answer the lack of quality in Indonesia’s human resources. With the concept of an omnibus law, the government is trying to combine laws that are irrelevant to each other. There will be a lack of understanding and synchronization; what they are trying to simplify, might actually become more complicated.” he said.

Furthermore, Raynaldo believes that the current version of the Job Creation Bill will grant the central government great authority over the regional governments. With the intention of simplifying permits, the Bill is set to relegate the importance of the environmental impact assessment (AMDAL) by limiting the risk assessment factors to only four predefined factors.

As a result, the current method of risk calculation would allow an opportunity for large scale businesses not to be categorized as a high-risk business. On top of that, the current Bill has also disbanded the AMDAL evaluation commission, instead of assigning the task to a private entity and Presidential Regulations (PP).

“This means that AMDAL tests will now be done by the private sector, and the qualification of the new commission is also questionable; this is concerning. Furthermore, the new bill stipulates that access to public information on the AMDAL strictly be online, this limits public participation for those without an internet connection,” added Raynaldo.

In response to Raynaldo’s evaluation, Chief of the House of Representatives (DPR) Legislative Body (Baleg), Supratman Andi Agtas, acknowledged that the simplification of permits, especially for businesses in the natural resource industry, remains an integral part of the Job Creation Bill. 

“Permit acquisitions thus far have been handed over to regional governments. As a result, it is difficult to control. Therefore, with the government’s intending to simplify permit acquisition, and given more optimal supervision, we hope that this will translate to more employment opportunities,” said Supratman, in an online web seminar, on Wednesday, April 15.

Discussions on the Job Creation Bill have stalled over the past few weeks. Plenary sessions continue to be held even during the enactment of the Large Scale Social Restriction (PSBB) policy, although no conclusion has yet to be reached.

“I must clarify that all state functions cannot be stuck, even in the current condition. As the Legislative Body is the law center for the House, we don’t want to stall our responsibilities because we want to be accountable to the public,” added Supratman.

DIO SUHENDA