Jakarta,
June 17, 2016 (Antara)- Ensuring that regional regulations are formulated
carefully and no loopholes creep in is better than being left to rectify
mistakes or having to scrap such problematic bylaws repeatedly.
Foolproof drafting of laws requires that personnel tasked for the
purpose as well as regional officials who sign or supervise the
implementation of the local regulations undergo continuous education and
attend courses to equip themselves with the required skills.
The Central Government, on June 13, announced that a total of 3,143
problematic bylaws were scrapped by the Home Affairs Ministry on the
instructions of the head of state, mostly for reasons that these
hindered investments and licensing processes.
This is the highest number of regulations to be scrapped since the implementation of plans to introduce regional autonomy.
This is the highest number of regulations to be scrapped since the implementation of plans to introduce regional autonomy.
During 2002-2009, a total of 2,246 regional regulations were scrapped,
while 1,501 were scrapped during 2010-2014, and 139 from November 2015
to May 2016.
In total, the government has revoked 7,029 regional regulations since 2002.
The bylaws were annulled based on four criteria -- slowing down regional economic growth and adding to bureaucratic procedures; obstructing the licensing and investment process; impeding the ease of doing business; and being in conflict with higher regulations.
Several bylaws linked to retribution payments, which were considered unnecessary, such as those for IDs, birth certificates, and others, were also revoked.
President
Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that 3,143 bylaws were impeding national
capacity and hindering efforts to become competitive or were not in
keeping with the spirit of unity in diversity.
These laws were annulled with the aim to make Indonesia a tolerant and competitive nation, he remarked.
These laws were annulled with the aim to make Indonesia a tolerant and competitive nation, he remarked.
Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo observed, however, that his office
had urged the strengthening of bylaws on alcohol, narcotics abuse, and
sexual crimes against children.
The Association of Indonesian Young Businessmen (Hipmi) praised the
government for scrapping the bylaws believed to be hindering investment
and businesses.
"We
laud the government for this move. It is a bold step by the president,
and he has upheld the sovereignty of every region of the Unitary State
of the Republic of Indonesia," Hipmi Chairman Bahlil Lahadalia stated.
The nation's integrity is not only limited
to geographical and security aspects but also concerns legal, economic, and political areas, he emphasized.
to geographical and security aspects but also concerns legal, economic, and political areas, he emphasized.
By revoking the bylaws, the president has upheld the sovereign authority, he pointed out.
No region should be allowed to issue unproductive regional regulations
that could slow down economic growth, he stated.
Lahadalia supported the decision to revoke the bylaws as he believed
several of them were against the Constitution and had made the nation
less competitive.
In the meantime, Legislator Hetifah Sjaifudian called on the government
to improve the capacity of regional officers in charge of formulating
bylaws to ensure that no problematic local regulations are passed in
future.
The central government should implement capacity improvement programs
for officers involved in formulating regional regulations, so that no
more such revocation have to be resorted to in future, she urged at the
Parliament recently.
The
process of drafting bylaws should be participatory, consultative and
systematic and should involve groups or those likely to be affected by
these bylaws, the politician from Golkar Party suggested.
The home affairs ministry should conduct a Regulatory Impact Assessment during the drafting process, she noted.
Sjaifudian
also urged the government to review regional regulations that not only
harmed investments or businesses but were also discriminatory towards
women or specific groups.
A similar view was voiced by the Research Director of Setara Institute, Ismail Hasani, who believed that the revocation of the 3,143 regional regulations (Perda) reflected the poor quality of legislation formulated in the regions.
A similar view was voiced by the Research Director of Setara Institute, Ismail Hasani, who believed that the revocation of the 3,143 regional regulations (Perda) reflected the poor quality of legislation formulated in the regions.
The
mechanism failed to work to prevent the regional administrations from
issuing regulations beyond their authority, Ismail rued.
The abolition of Perda should push for reform in the legislation mechanism in the regions, he urged.
In addition, Hasani also believed that the government has missed
certain regulations that were inherently intolerant or were
discriminatory in nature while revoking thousands of bylaws.
The
regional regulations cancelled by the government were generally those
relating to economic issues, such as taxes and levies, or those tending
to weaken the country's economic competitiveness, Ismail argued.
The Home Affairs Ministry, as the agency controlling the implementation of regional autonomy, failed to address itself to discriminatory and intolerant regulations, he added.
Furthermore, details should be furnished whether the revoked regional regulations included such intolerant and discriminatory pieces of law, he noted.
The Home Affairs Ministry, as the agency controlling the implementation of regional autonomy, failed to address itself to discriminatory and intolerant regulations, he added.
Furthermore, details should be furnished whether the revoked regional regulations included such intolerant and discriminatory pieces of law, he noted.
Setara recorded 53 regional regulations that were intolerant as these
had inbuilt religion or faith based discrimination.
The National Commission for Violence against Women had conducted a
study which found 365 discriminatory regional regulations, while the
Interior Ministry found only 21 such regulations.
However, Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the House of
Representatives Almuzzammil Yusuf said the central government should
respect the rights of regional administrations to issue bylaws, in
keeping with the Constitution.
The
central government should not have scrapped regional regulations
without conducting in-depth studies, he remarked.
While arriving at a decision to scrap any bylaw, the central government should not solely consider investment as an important factor but should also respect morality, norms, religious values, and the state of the younger generation, the politician of the Prosperous Justice Party stated.
While arriving at a decision to scrap any bylaw, the central government should not solely consider investment as an important factor but should also respect morality, norms, religious values, and the state of the younger generation, the politician of the Prosperous Justice Party stated.
The Commission II plans to summon Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo
to explain why certain bylaws were scrapped, or will be, according to
Yusuf. ***2***
(f001/INE)
EDITED BY INE/a014
17-06-2016 18:57:22
(f001/INE)
EDITED BY INE/a014
17-06-2016 18:57:22
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