The House of Representatives has set a target of passing 247 bills in its 2009-2014 National Legislative Program, one of which is the highly controversial corruption bill.
The bill, one of 55 priority bills set for passage in 2010, has been deemed by antigraft activist as a means to undermine the 2002 Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law and the earlier 1999 Corruption Law.
"The corruption bill still has a lot of weaknesses," Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Febri Diansyah told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
"For instance, the minimum penalty it prescribes for corruptors is too low."
Article 2 of the bill, submitted by the government in August 2008, stipulates anyone proven to have bribed a state official faces jail time of between one and five years.
It also stipulates fines ranging from Rp 50 million to Rp 250 million (US$5,300 to $26,500).
The same article also stipulates any state official proven to have received a bribe faces the same minimum jail time and fine, and a maximum sentence of seven years and fine of Rp 350 million.
Under the existing laws, the minimum imprisonment stands at four years, while the minimum fine stands at Rp 100 million.
"It'd be better for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to withdraw the bill and revise its substance first," Febri said.
"If the bill is passed as it now stands, then it'll be a tragedy for the country's antigraft efforts."
He added the passage of the corruption bill in its current form could also see whistle-blowers face criminal charges.
Article 18 of the bill states anyone found guilty of have fabricating a report on alleged corruption can be imprisoned for up to three years.
An earlier ICW report also criticized the corruption bill's lack of any article forcing corrupt officials to pay a fine commensurate with the state loss they may have caused.
The existing corruption law provides for this in its Article 18.
Despite the criticism, legislators at House Commission III, which oversees legal and human rights issues, say they believe the bill will be able to strengthen efforts in the fight against corruption.
"The bill aims to improve the coordination between the KPK, the Attorney General's Office and the police to fight corruption," said Ahmad Rubai, from the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Gayus Lumbuun, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that there was no need to worry about the possibility of the bill killing off the anticorruption spirit, stressing there was "always a chance" for the House to revise the bill's substance.
