"Return of the New Order". The sentence has been thrown around in TV channels in the past few days. Democratic values, particularly the freedom of association, are on the verge of being jeopardized as the House of Representatives (DPR) plan to legalize the controversial and highly restrictive bill on mass organizations. The existing regulations – such as the bill on foundations and the criminal code – made the urgency of the new bill even more questionable.
House members have debated on the bill for a long time. As certain organizations committed more and more violence, the House and the government was committed to revise the Law No.8/1995. The revision draft stated "the need to control mass organizations that frequently create chaos."
From the beginning, the bill smelled of anti-democracy. Clauses are composed to tightly regulate any association founded by three or more people--including those with and without legal entities. The mass organizations are mandated to report to the government. Even hobby-based communities such as K-pop lovers or bird lovers would be regulated by the bill. Any mass organization will be disbanded if they are suspected of violating the rules.
The House and the government also seem to be "foreigner-phobic". The bill requires foreign organizations to obtain operational permit and principle permit. The latter will be issued after the Foreign Affairs Ministry tracks down the identity of the founders. Initially, local organizations were also required to report when they accept aid from foreign entities. However, the bill decreases the initial restriction, saying that organizations have to "manage financial issues in transparent and accountable manners".
The draft was widely rejected by many human rights defenders, as the House dismissed article 28 F in the Constitution that guarantees "the right to communicate and to acquire information to develop individuals and community; seek, acquire, save, process, and deliver information through all means possible". The latest draft dated April 10 2013 did not accommodate the concern.
Initially, the draft also banned the proliferation of Communism, Marxism, Leninism, capitalism, and liberalism. After facing a lot of protests, the latest draft only contained a slight change, where it "only" bans atheism, communism/Marxism-Leninism.
It is true that Law No.8/1985--created under the Soeharto administration--was a lot more repressive. However, that does not justify the House to create a similarly repressive bill with draconian laws. Members of the House should have terminated any further discussion on the bill, for the sake of the Reformation. (*)
