General Chairman of the Executive Board of the Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) Said Aqil Siraj (center) along with a number of leaders from mass organizations give a press statement at the office of DPP PBNU in Jakarta on Friday (7/7). At least 14 Islamic organizations grouped under the Islamic Mass Organization Brotherhood Institution have asked the government to speed up the issuance of Government Regulation in lieu of Law (Perppu) on mass organizations.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The issuance of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) No. 2/2017 on the Revision of the Mass Organization Law must not threaten democracy. The freedom of association, to gather and to express an opinion, must be maintained.
The enactment of the Perppu on mass organization requires a clear and transparent mechanism so that it does not become a tool of power to be used against any critical thinking or groups.
“The Perppu has been received by the DPR (House of Representatives), and in accordance to the law, the House will deliberate on it at the next House meeting period,” said House deputy speaker Agus Hermanto in Jakarta on Thursday (13/7). According to the rules, the Perppu must be approved by the House for it to become a law. The government has quickly communicated with the House of Representatives to speed up the ratification of the Perppu.
While waiting for the deliberation on the regulation with the House, the Law and Human Rights Ministry will carry out a study to identify mass organizations that are considered to carry anti-Pancasila values and spread radical ideologies. Although it has not received House approval, Agus said the rules contained in the Perppu still applied.
The Perppu replaces Law No. 17/2013 on Mass Organizations If the House chooses to reject the Perppu, then Perppu will automatically be annulled and the regulation regarding mass organizations will revert back to Law No. 17/2013.
MUI in support
Regarding the issuance of the Mass Organization Perppu, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) says it fully supports the government’s move to fight radical ideas and groups that conflict with Pancasila as the national principle. According to MUI deputy chairman Zainut Tauhid Sa’adi, the MUI understands the urgency of issuing the Perppu as the old regulation is not strong enough to take action on mass organizations that are against Pancasila and the 1945 constitution.
Zainut hopes that the Perppu on mass organizations will not only target Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), which the government deems to be against the values of Pancasila. The Perppu should target all other mass organizations that can be categorized as being in breach of the Pancasila ideology and therefore threaten the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
As a law enforcer, the police also believe that the old regulation is no longer relevant in the face of the threat of radical organizations. Also, law enforcement in the old mass organization regulation requires a relatively long process.
“The National Police needs the right legal foundation to carry out legal actions so that the people are not disturbed by the activities of organizations that do not comply with the integrity of the NKRI, Pancasila and the 1945 constitution,” said National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul.
However, Muhammadiyah secretary Abdul Mu’ti said that if the perppu was issued to make it easy for the government to ban mass organizations in violation of Pancasila, the government will not be ready for the political dynamics among the people. “If it is not managed well, the impact could be extremely serious in regards to freedom to take part in organizations and freedom of speech,” he said.
Mu’ti said disbanding or banning a mass organization could not guarantee that the organization would not grow. An organization that has an ideology at the heart of it will grow as an underground movement if external factors that prompted its establishment are not addressed or resolved.
The government must try to disseminate Pancasila through intellectual, cultural and theological approaches and involve as many people as possible, particularly religious mass organizations. A structural approach could potentially violate civil rights to freedom of association, religion and expressing opinions.
“Muhammadiyah fully supports democracy, democratization and the freedom of speech. If the Perppu is enacted, a clear mechanism and a transparent enactment process is needed so that it does not become a tool to penalize critical groups and ideologies,” Mu’ti said.
Threatening
House Commission III deputy chairman from the Democratic Party faction Benny K Harman said the Perppu on mass organizations could threaten democracy. The content of the Perppu could threaten the right to alliances and to express opinions.
“I agree with the government: mass organizations that are in violation of Pancasila, and even look to replace it, must be disbanded. However, the disbandment must go through a democratic mechanism. It cannot be done unilaterally by the government,” he said.
A democratic mechanism, he added, would involve organizations in question being taken to court which would then order for it to be disbanded. The court, as an independent institution, should be left to decide the fate of the organizations. This would be as stipulated in Law No. 17/2013. The government cannot be the one that assesses a violating mass organization and disbands them.
Law and Policy Study Center researcher Rizky Argama said the Perppu on mass organizations undermined an important part of the guaranteed freedom of association in Indonesia. Article 61 of the Mass Organization Perppu allows the government to unilaterally revoke the legal entity status of a mass organization without prior investigation in court. This process is important to ensure the principle of due process of law which gives room for the organization to defend itself and also gives the judge the opportunity to listen fairly to the arguments of those in dispute.
“This mechanism prevents government arbitrariness in disbanding mass organizations,” Rizky said.
However, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said the Mass Organization Perppu was a concrete move by the government after listening to the aspirations of the people related to the presence of radical mass organizations that affected the young generation and tried to change the form of the country. He hopes the House can think clearly in considering the needs of the nation.
“Democracy should not be understood as full freedom because there are limits, which is the law. To ensure the public interest, the government can limit that freedom,” Wiranto said.
The government has made sure that the Perppu on mass organizations will not breach the democratic rights of the people. According to Wiranto, the government will take persuasive measures on mass organizations that are considered to be in violation of Pancasila and the 1945 constitution. The measures would include issuing a written warning, then stopping their activities. The final move will be the revocation of their registration or their legal entity status. This will be done if the two administrative sanctions are ignored.
“When a mass organization is disbanded because they have been proven to be in violation of Pancasila, feel free to appeal to the courts. The sanction (permit revocation) is not final, so they can launch an appeal,” Wiranto said.
