TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The House of Representatives (DPR) presumes that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had cutback the legislator’s constitutional right in overseeing the country’s wealth of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
It was cutback through a revision of the Government Regulation (PP) No. 44/2005 on Procedures and Administration of the State Capital Investment in SOEs by issuing PP No. 72/2016.
“The new regulation is unconstitutional and clashes with other constitutions,” said a member of the House of Representative's Commission XI, Heri Gunawan, on Thursday, January 19, 2017.
The government regulation, according to him, has loosened the state capital injection (PMN) procedure without the House's confirmation. This regulation allows the government to relocate and alter the country’s wealth without going through the State Budget mechanism or even through the House’s approval.
According to Heri, everything that is related to finances and state wealth is the object of the State Budget which coincides with Article 23 (1) (2) and (3) from the 1945 Constitution.
Article 23 mentions that the Draft Bill (RUU) of the State Budget is submitted by the President to be discussed together with the House of Representative, as well as taking Regional Representative Council (DPD) into consideration. The government will run the previous State Budget if the House disapproves the State Budget submitted by the President.
“Any form of takeovers or changes in the status of shareholders which is considered a state wealth must have the House’s approval,” Heri said. “The government can’t just ruin the constitutional mechanism by creating a regulation that conflicts with the law and even the constitution.”
The member of Gerindra faction said that PP No. 72 is a bad precedent for state governance.
Heri suggests that Government Regulation No. 72 should be canceled since it is dangerous and ruins an open, democratic, and accounted for the state system. He even suspects that the PP was created at the request of the Ministry of State Owned Enterprises, which asked Pertamina to acquire PGN.
GHOIDA RAHMAH
