May Justice Not Be Forgotten

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Reelected President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo speaks on Sunday (14/7/2019) at the “Vision for Indonesia” rally in Sentul, Bogor, West Java. Thousands of volunteers and political party leaders that supported the Jokowi-Amin presidential campaign attended the event, which outlined the President’s vision for his second and final term in office.

We don’t want this country to become powerless by carrying out reforms in the legal system and law enforcement to make it corruption free, dignified and reliable.

This is the fourth point in the priority agenda of President Joko Widodo, and Vice President M Jusuf Kalla, which is called Nawacita. It’s the “nine hopes” aimed to be realized within five years of his administration, in the 2014-2019 period.

In the 2019 election, Joko Widodo was reelected, paired with vice presidential candidate Ma\'ruf Amin. The president-elect delivered a speech on Sunday (14/7/2019), in Sentul, West Java, entitled "Vision of Indonesia". There are five stages (of priority) to be the focus so Indonesia can become more productive, competitive and be flexible in facing changes in the global community.

In fact, legal uncertainty can hamper investment.

The Vision of Indonesia seems to be more focused on the economy, such as continuing infrastructure development programs, attracting investment, building human resources and using the state budget on target. Nothing specifically talks about legal issues, such as eradicating corruption, law enforcement and upholding human rights, including resolving alleged human rights violations of the past. In fact, legal uncertainty can hamper investment.

Various interpretations can arise regarding the Vision of Indonesia speech, which barely mentioned the importance of law. In fact, in

Nawacita, legal issues are a priority agenda. It could be that for the second period, law enforcement and corruption eradication are considered to be on the right track.

If we look into Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) data, investment in Indonesia in 2017 grew by more than 10 percent. However, in 2018, the growth slowed to only around 4 percent. In addition to economic and international factors, investment in this country is also hampered by political problems and licensing issues. Legal certainty is also a concern for potential investors.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Confetti showers down in front of a backdrop displaying the images of reelected President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and vice president-elect Ma\'ruf Amin on Sunday (07/14/2019) at the “Vision for Indonesia” rally in Sentul, Bogor, West Java. Thousands of volunteers and political party leaders that supported the Jokowi-Amin presidential campaign attended the event, which outlined the President’s vision for his second and final term in office.

The president-elect will hopefully not forget about law enforcement, solutions to human rights abuses and corruption eradication. Some people consider corruption a “lubricant” for development. In fact, corruption will destroy development. Legal issues still surround this country and require attention from the next administration. Transparency International Indonesia (TII), in the past five years, recorded that Indonesia\'s corruption perception index had improved, but only from 36 to 38. It’s slow, just like the proverb alon-alon waton kelakon (slow but sure).

Under Vision of Indonesia, the president-elect reiterated the importance of reforming the bureaucracy. Legal issues and corruption cannot be separated from the bureaucracy. Bureaucracy in this country has improved, but not enough. Hopefully the intention of the president- elect to lead bureaucratic reform himself is a sign that law enforcement is not being abandoned.