Outcry over the Omnibus Perpu

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - At the end of 2022, President Joko Widodo issued the Government Regulation in lieu of Law (Perpu) on Job Creation. Why did this come at the end of the year at the time when people were on holiday celebrating the New Year?

The Perpu is a consequence of the Supreme Court ruling that the Job Creation Law was conditionally unconstitutional. The Court highlighted the secretive process of drawing it up, which went ahead without considering or involving public opinion. There was some public information provided, but no more than necessary to meet the requirement.

In a democratic nation, when laws are drawn up there should be a meaningful participation from the people. This does not mean representatives, but the public at large. Given that the House of Representatives (DPR) is now no more than a rubber stamp for the government, the voice of the people must be heard.

This is what the Constitutional Court said in its 2021 ruling, giving the government two years to revise the process and the crucial provisions that endangered the people, the environment and democracy. During those two years, the government was forbidden from implementing the provisions in this omnibus law.

Instead of abiding by the ruling, the government issued the Job Creation Perpu, putting the law at the same level as a government regulation. Why did the government so openly defy the constitution? The Perpu is clearly undemocratic because it was decided unilaterally by the government. A Perpu should be the government’s last resort at times of pressing crisis when dialogue has ground to a halt.