TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - It is difficult not to condemn steps taken by the House of Representatives (DPR) to further add to its legislative powers. It has even strayed into the realm of law enforcement by claiming the right to summon people whenever they want it. Now its members are even immune to prosecution.
This was accomplished by a revision to Law No. 17/2014 on the People’s Consultative Assembly, House of Representatives, Regional Representative Assembly and Provincial Legislative Assemblies, known as the MD3 Law. The revision, which was discussed out of the public’s view and through an opaque process, was passed into law in a plenary session last week. The government should have rejected this revision because it wrecks the system under which our nation is governed.
One dangerous new clause is Clause 122 paragraph k, which allows the House Ethics Council to take legal action against anyone who demeans the DPR or its members. This provision is controversial, to say the least. How can a House that represents the people threaten the public? This article can be interpreted in many ways, and could be used against anybody who criticizes the House.
In fact, the House should be strongly criticized indeed. It has a bloated budget: it set aside Rp856.7 billion for legislation, yet last year it only passed a fraction of the laws it had targeted. It has also been busy ‘battling’ the Corruption Eradication Commission. The average attendance of its plenary sessions is only 41 percent.
Another provision that should be criticized is Article 73, which gives the House the right to summon anybody it wants and demand information from that person. This really oversteps the mark because it turns the House into a law enforcement body.
The House has gone even further in betraying the spirit of the Constitution by making its members immune to prosecution. Article 24 of the revised MD3 Law states that before a member of the DPR can be summoned to appear in court, permission must be obtained from the President, and the House Ethics Council must be consulted. This is clearly at odds with the principle of equality of all citizens before the law as enshrined in the Constitution.
In 2014, the Constitutional Court already ruled against an article giving members of the DPR immunity from prosecution. It annulled a clause requiring a summons to secure permission from the House Ethics Council. But this article has been revived and the word "permission" has been replaced by "consultation".
It is truly regrettable that President Joko Widodo has made no comment whatsoever on the MD3 Law. When questioned by reporters at the State Palace, the president simply laughed as if this was a trivial matter, something to joke about. And Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly said that Article 245 in the revised MD3 Law was not in breach of the Constitutional Court ruling because the House Ethics Council would only consider, not grant permission.
The government should take a firm stance against measures that deviate from the Constitution. Its consent to the revision of the MD3 Law will only accelerate the wrecking of our governmental system. Democracy without checks and balances and the supremacy of law will give rise to institutions that behave in an arbitrary way.
A total of 90,000 netizens have signed a petition opposing the MD3 Law. Legal academics have also spoken against it. These endeavors need to be followed up with the filing of a legal challenge at the Constitutional Court immediately after the government promulgates the revised MD3 Law. The DPR must not be allowed to become a superpower body that cannot be criticized or controlled.
Read the full article in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine
