The results of the amendment of UU MD3 shows the House\'s intention to rule without limits and public control.
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Kompas/ Johnny TG
House of Representatives and People’s Consultative Assembly complex in Senayan, Jakarta.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The emergence of a number of articles in the amended Law No. 17 of 2014 on legislative institutions (UU MD3), which strengthens the authority and immunity of House members, shows a major decline in democracy in Indonesia. The results of the amendment of UU MD3 shows the House\'s intention to rule without limits and public control.
Even more ironic is the House\'s move comes amid low public confidence in the institution. In addition to a number of members of the House of Representatives who have to deal with the law, the performance of the institution is also not optimal.
"What happens with the amendment of the MD3 Law is institutional decay. The people do not only increasingly disbelieve in the DPR, but they also cannot believe in democracy, "said J. Kristiadi from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Tuesday (13/2).
Through the amended MD3 Law which was passed into law on Monday at a House of Representatives plenary meeting, the DPR, among other things, made a law in which law enforcers who question DPR members involved in legal cases have to get consideration from the House ethics council (MKD). The MKD is also authorized to take legal action against those who undermine the honor of the DPR and its members. The DPR can also make summonses by force over threats.
Multiple groups in society have rejected the provision. A group of students of the Serang chapter of the National Student Movement of Indonesia in Banten held on Tuesday a protest, shutting the front of the campus of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin State Islamic University. In the action, they unfurled a number of posters.
"Now there is an impression that the House members want to have excessive immunity from criticism, it is very undemocratic and does not take the side of law enforcement. Democracy teaches the rule of law, not impunity," said Siti Zuhro from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.
General chairman of the Muhammadiyah Central Youth Leadership Board Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak said that the amended MD3 Law has dragged Indonesia into the dark era of democracy, arguing that the DPR has lost its moral authority to speak about democracy and civil rights because they have jointly murdered democracy in Indonesia.
"It turns out that our politicians want to rule without limit," he said. Responding to the actions, House Speaker Bambang Soesatyo said that the mechanism of the ratification of the amended MD3 Law was in accordance with prevailing rules and provisions. "If there are those who are not satisfied, they can file an objection to the Constitutional Court," he said.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly also invited those who disagreed with the provisions of the amended MD3 Law to bring it to the Constitutional Court. According to him, a number of provisions in the amended MD3 Law, such as defamation against the DPR, also exist in other countries.
Internal revision
As a consequence of the emergence of a number of new provisions in the amended MD3 Law, the DPR will change its internal rules. The revision, which is planned to come into effect in March, will, among other things, result in changes to DPR Regulation No. 1 of 2014 on the DPR\'s code of conduct and DPR Regulation No. 1 of 2015 on the code of ethics, and DPR Regulation No. 2 of 2015 on procedures of the House ethics council.
Deputy chairman of the DPR legislation body of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Faction Arif Wibowo said that the revision of the internal rules was to clarify a number of articles in the amended MD3 Law.
Arief cited as an example that clarification was needed in the definition and limitations of actions categorized to undermine the honor of the DPR and the definition of House summonses.
Ethics council chairman of the Gerindra Party Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said the council would not indiscriminately report a person or group to the police for criticizing the House. "If the criticism is constructive and has its scientific basis, such as a survey which states the House is the most corrupt institution and it is written in the media, it doesn\'t matter," he said.
Dasco emphasized that the written approval of the President and the consideration of the MKD did not apply to three cases, namely, if the DPR members are caught red-handed committing crimes, if they are suspected of committing crimes punishable by death or life imprisonment or crimes against humanity and state security, and if the cases constitute special crimes.
Chairman of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) Oesman Sapta said that the DPD had never proposed an addition of one seat for the deputy chairman of the DPD in the amended MD3 Law. "It was made by the DPR\'s legislation body," he said.
