Even though it has not yet been discussed, it is believed that the revision of the law to add ministries can be discussed

In order to be discussed, the draft amendment to Law No. 39/2008 concerning State Ministries must be included in the priority Prolegnas.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

The prospective presidential and vice presidential candidates, Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, bid farewell after registering for the 2024 Presidential Election at the Main Courtroom of the General Election Commission (KPU) in Jakarta on Wednesday (25/10/2023).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Even though the Draft Law on Amendments to Law Number 39 of 2008 concerning State Ministries has been included in the 2020-2024 National Legislation Program and there are no signs yet will be discussed in the DPR for the 2019-2024 period, it is possible that the bill will be discussed during the DPR's current term of office. As long as the government immediately submits a draft bill along with an inventory of the problems. It is believed that discussion of the bill will take place quickly.

DPR Legislative Body (Baleg) member from the Golkar Party Faction, Firman Soebagyo, when contacted in Jakarta on Monday (6/5/2024), stated that the bill to be discussed in the DPR is not enough to simply be included in the National Legislative Program (Prolegnas) list for 2020-2024. The bill must also be included in the short-term priority Prolegnas list.

He admitted that until now, there has been no discussion in the Legislation Body regarding the Draft Law on the State Ministry. However, this does not necessarily close the opportunity for discussing the Draft Law. It is possible that the Draft Law will still be discussed briefly during the remaining session of the term of the House of Representatives for the period 2019-2024.

The idea of ​​forming 41 ministries and institutions was a new idea conveyed by Prabowo Subianto as elected president.

"Nothing is impossible (in the DPR). But, right, there has to be an initiator. Well, because this concerns the interests of the cabinet, of course the most appropriate thing is to be a government initiative if indeed (revision of the Law Ministry of State) exists. "Because, it is the government that has an interest and knows what is wanted in this five-year plan," said Firman.

ANTARA/WAHYU PUTRO

President Joko Widodo, accompanied by Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, introduced the members of the Indonesia Maju Cabinet on the stairs of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday (23/10/2019).

Also read: Reorganizing State Ministries, Cabinet Proposed to Fill with 41 Ministers

Previously, there was a proposal from the Association of Constitutional Law and State Administration Law Educators (APHTN-HAN) suggesting that the ideal number of ministries should be 41. The fact that many government affairs in the 1945 Constitution are not yet included in the ministries is a consideration for APHTN-HAN to propose the addition.

However, the addition of ministries must go through a revision of the State Ministries Law. This is because the law limits the maximum number of ministries to 34.

Recently, one of the cadres of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Guspardi Gaus, stated that the idea of forming 41 ministries and agencies was a new idea put forth by the President-elect, Prabowo Subianto.

Finalize planning

Firman continued that for the Golkar Party, if the government finally wants to revise the State Ministry Law, it must be based on careful planning. This means that if the number of ministries is to be increased, the targets and goals to be pursued must also be clear.

I don't need to conclude that (the addition of this ministry is for the sake of) being politically accommodating or not. Politics is interest.

“Whether big or small, slim or not slim, that's another issue. "However, what is important is what targets, targets and outputs are to be achieved with the additional ministries," said Firman.

ARSIP DPR

Member of the DPR Legislative Body from the Golkar Party Fraction, Firman Soebagyo.

In addition, this plan to add a ministry must also be viewed in the context of the larger idea of facilitating government governance. We must ensure that adding a ministry will not further complicate the bureaucratic process in government governance.

"I don't need to conclude whether this addition of a ministry is for accommodating political interests or not. Politics is about interests. However, those interests must lead to greater interests for the prosperity of the people and better development. Otherwise, it is useless. So, this should be taken into consideration, not just revising the law and adding a ministry," Firman emphasized.

If you want to change the law, you have to be clear about the president's vision and mission, where the direction is, what the targets are, what the output will be like for five years.

If you look at the current ministries and institutions, according to Firman, there is actually a lot that needs to be simplified. For example, the National Food Agency will later be merged with Bulog to become the Minister of Food and Logistics. "So, there is no longer a need for ministers to take care of lunch. "All orientation is there," he said.

The free lunch program is one of Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka's mainstay programs in the 2024 Presidential Election campaign. This free lunch program is one of Prabowo-Gibran's 100 working day programs after being inaugurated .

KOMPAS

The proposal to use operational funds for educational units to realize the free lunch program that was put forward by Airlangga Hartarto, the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs and also a member of the Prabowo-Gibran National Campaign Team, has faced rejection from teachers' circles.

Furthermore, village management does not need to be handled by two ministries as it is now, which are the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions Development, and Transmigration. It is sufficient to be pulled under one ministry to avoid overlap.

That is, poor in structure, rich in function. Slim structure, but its role can be optimal.

Then, for the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, it is possible that the ministry will be separated, with one ministry handling forestry issues and another handling environmental issues.

"So, if you want to change the law, you have to be clear about the president's vision and mission, what the direction is, what the targets are, what the output will be like for five years. Don't let a ministry that is so bloated end up busying itself because creating a new organization in a new ministry is not easy. Don't let the government period be five years, 1-2 years just take care of adding to the government organizational structure. "We will lose time," said Firman.

Difficult to synergize

A member of the Legislative Body of the Indonesian DPR from the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) Faction, Mardani Ali Sera, confirmed Firman's statement that so far there have been no signs of discussing the bill on the State Ministry in the DPR. However, regarding the discourse, he reminded that in the future, it is better to prioritize bureaucracy reform.

"That means, poor in structure, rich in function. "The structure is slim, but its role can be optimal," said Mardani.

KOMPAS/PRADIPTA PANDU

Mardani Ali Sera

Also read: It is hoped that Prabowo-Gibran's Cabinet preparation will not be based on Cattle Trade Politics

The PKS faction has not yet discussed details, both regarding the option of adding a ministry or the option of ministerial nomenclature. Despite this, according to Mardani, both options definitely have pros and cons.

"The more ministries there are, the more difficult it is to coordinate and synergize," he stressed.