Agrarian Bill Deviating from Justice

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The draft Agrarian Law is not in alignment with the main program of the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla administration. The bill is not viable for passing into law.JAKARTA, KOMPAS— The draft Agrarian Law contains many problematic articles that are unjust and contradict the ideals of agrarian reform as the government has outlined in the Nawacita program. The bill is also deemed to contradict Law No. 5/1960 on Basic Agrarian Principles. Various articles in the Agrarian Bill () show partiality toward investors.

Those are the highlights of Kompas’ interview with a number of academics and legislators, contacted separately. In Nawacita, the government seeks to bring justice to the marginalized by closing the gap between the weak and those who have capital through agrarian reform.

Deputy chairman Arif Wibowo (PDI-P faction) of the House of Representatives RUUP Working Committee said on Sunday (15/9/2019), if the bill is passed with the existing problematic articles, "it will bring harm to the public and, conversely, give advantages to investors and businesspeople".
According to Arif, it is not feasible for the bill to be passed into law during the current House session because it contradicts the agrarian justice that the government has prioritized. As a government party, said Arif, the House should immediately communicate to the government its intention to delay the Agrarian Bill.
Brawijaya University law professor Achmad Sodiki said, "The RUUP does not reflect Nawacita, because Nawacita aims to bring justice to the marginalized, to close the gap, through land [agrarian] reform."
Gadjah Mada University’s agrarian law professor, Maria S.W. Sumardjono, emphasized on Friday, "The RUUP should translate Nawacita. It seems that the bill assumes that Nawacita does not exist, because it has not been used as the basis of the bill."
A former deputy chairman of the Constitutional Court in 2010-2013, Achmad Sodiki said, "President Jokowi\'s ideals through the Nawacita mission are equality and justice. However, the bill does not demonstrate that. Instead, it makes it easier to make investments without any guidelines to prevent the displacement or impoverishment of the poor. "
He said that investors who controlled large tracts of land, such as plantations, have proven unable to provide welfare to forest communities.
Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister/National Agrarian Agency (BPN) head Sofyan A. Djalil said on Tuesday (10/9) during a visit to Kompas that the bill actually ensured the availability of land to benefit small communities, because abandoned land fell under the direct management of the Land Management Agency (LPT).
Land bank and land use
One of the critical points in the bill is land banks, called LPT in the bill. The LPT receives abandoned land, including land whose land-use rights (HGU) have expired.
KOMPAS/NINA SUSILO
President Joko Widodo speaks at a public land transfer event on Thursday (5/9/2019) in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. The President, accompanied by Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofjan Djalil, transferred 3,000 land deeds during the event as part of the government’s efforts to resolve land disputes across Indonesia.
Sofyan said this was stipulated in Article 73 of the bill. "For example, if there is an HGU that is abandoned, we can take it [and] can use it for social interests, economic equality, public interests, development, land consolidation, [or] agrarian equality," he said.
Regarding LPTs, Article 72, Paragraph (2), in the bill stipulates that the Land Management Agency is to function as a land bank that oversees the planning, acquisition, procurement, management, utilization and distribution of land.
Article 73 stipulates that the LPT must guarantee the availability of land within the framework of a just economy for the public interest, communities, development, economic equality, land consolidation, agrarian reform and land justice.
According to Maria, if an HGU permit expires, the land automatically became an object of agrarian reform. "Agrarian reform targets all land that is violated. This is stated in Presidential Regulation No. 86/2018. If [the land] is managed by the LPT, it can be returned [to businesspeople] under the singular discretion of the minister," she said.
Sofyan said that placing land under LPT management made it available to the state, if the land was needed. He cited as example cities that were not “friendly” and had no parks. "Now, if land is available, I can give it to the Indonesian Military [TNI], to the police, to the local administration, to the IPB. Once we have a land bank, we can make accommodations. If we want to build public housing, we can give [the land] for free. That is the main thing, that it is for the public interest," he said.
Sofyan gave an example of agrarian reform and land justice: "Yesterday, it [the government] took over 3,700 hectares of abandoned land. Of that area, 1,800 hectares were given to the people. The rest, the river and others, was preserved for a mangrove forest. Any surplus was [allocated for] salt farms."
He added that abandoned HGUs in Java had all been returned to the people.
According to Sofyan, "The land bank is not intended for domein verklaring. But [HGU] land will be returned to the state after 80 years to be utilized."
Domein Verklaring (of 1870) was a colonial-era agrarian act that “officially designated all wild lands as state land, but ... entitled farmers to clear land in village forests, according to local customs.” (M. Carins ed, Balacing Environmental and Social Sustainability, CABI, 2017, p. 14).
As for extending an HGU permit, Article 26 in the bill states that legal entities will be granted tenure of 35 years that can be extended for another 25 years, and in certain conditions, for an additional 20 years.
KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO
Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister/National Land Agency head Sofyan Djalil gestures as he explains the Agrarian Bill on Tuesday (10/9/2019), during an official visit to the Kompas editorial offices in Jakarta. The House of Representatives (DPR) is currently deliberating the bill, which agrarian law professors have criticized for contradicting the principles of agrarian reform laid out in President Joko Widodo’s Nawacita program.
Agrarian injustice has often arisen through violating the maximum tenure of land ownership and control. The bill does not mention any strict sanctions. Instead, it contains an optional measure to compensate for the violation, provided that the leaseholder is willing to pay higher taxes on the excess tenure.
"This rule is discriminatory because it automatically benefits people who have money, that is, investors," said Arif.
Maria said, "In Law No. 56/1960, farmers who use land exceeding the maximum limit [tenure] are required to release it and if they do not, they are sanctioned. There are no exceptions. This regulation is clearly ‘unequal’." (AGE/ICH/ISW)

Editor:
naranasrullah

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