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mid concerns about rising sectarianism that threatens the nation’s commitment to pluralism, the government has said it may revise the 2013 Mass Organizations Law to make it easier to freeze or disband organizations it deems to hold values that are inimical to the values of Pancasila, the state ideology.

The government said the process of imposing sanctions on rogue organizations was “too complicated” under the current law.

Under the prevailing legislation, the government must first issue a written warning against a mass organization suspected of inciting sectarian hatred or disrupting public order. It is also required to issue three warning letters before it can freeze any organization that fails to heed its warnings.

Each warning is valid for 30 days and the government must wait one month before issuing another warning. In addition, the first and second reprimands must be issued twice before the government is able to issue its third warning.

The government is also required to seek a court warrant to disband an organization. To do that, it must file a request with the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) or a local prosecutor’s office in order to bring its plea to court.

Soedarmo, the Home Ministry’s director general for political affairs and general administration, said the process must be shortened and simplified. He argued that a revision to the law could help the country adapt to its “current situation”.

“Today’s mechanism for imposing sanctions on mass organizations that violate the law is too complicated and not simple in practice at all,” Soedarmo said after a closed door meeting related to mass organizations at the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister on Tuesday.

The revision would insert new mechanisms for the government to act against unregistered mass organizations that hold beliefs and activities proven to contradict Pancasila, Soedarmo said. “Unregistered organizations are rather hard to detect because they move underground. Thus, we have to gain a deeper understanding of the problem and prepare for the regulation at the same time,” he said.

A working team will soon be formed to follow up on the plan, Soedarmo said, adding that there was not yet a target for when the draft revision would reach the House of Representatives for deliberation.

The Home Ministry said there were about 250,000 mass organizations registered on its lists.

In January, the ministry said it had compiled a list of 10 unregistered mass organizations that may pose a threat to national security since their values were opposed to the state’s regulations and contradicted Pancasila.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said the government would intensify moves to probe mass organizations, which carry out activities obviously not in-line with the country’s general vision. “We will warn them to return to the fold and adhere to the government’s programs in developing the country,” Wiranto said, without naming any groups.

Muhammadiyah, the country’s second-largest Muslim organization, rejected the plan, saying it could take the country back to authoritarianism. “We should not go back to the past, to a time when we were paranoid about mass assemblies,” Muhammadiyah sectetary-general Abdul Mukti said.

Meanwhile, pro-Democracy watchdog Setara Institute said dissolving mass organizations that violated the law would not solve the core problems in the country. “It is not a solution. The thing that the government must do is to punish individuals in organizations [who commit violence in society],” Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said.