T

he majority of political factions at the House of Representatives are set to endorse President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s policy that grants his government the power to disband an organization without due process, despite concerns raised by legal experts and rights activists that such a policy could lead to authoritarianism.

Seven out of ten factions at the House, including the Democratic Party, a major opposition party, have voiced their support for the government’s regulation in lieu of the law (Perppu) on mass organizations, issued in July. The Perppu is now undergoing deliberation at the House over whether it can be passed into law to replace the 2013 Law on Mass Organizations.

“Of course we support [the Perppu]. We will support [the government] to disband all things or groups that contravene the Pancasila ideology,” Democratic Party lawmaker Evert Ernest Mangindaan said on Thursday.

Only three factions — the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Gerindra Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) — are opposed to the Perppu on the grounds that it gives the government authoritarian power.

PAN is a member of the ruling coalition led by Jokowi’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), but it is also close to Muhammadiyah, the nation’s second-largest Muslim organization, that is strongly opposed to the policy.

PAN lawmaker Yandri Susanto confirmed Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto had invited all executives from ruling parties to his official residence last night to talk about the Perppu, where PAN emphasized that his party would keep its stance in rejecting the policy.

“The party is committed to rejecting the policy because it scraps the court process [in the disbandment procedure]. Just because we reject it doesn’t mean we’re anti-Pancasila or siding with the HTI,” Yandri said, referring to Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), a hard-line Islamic group seeking the establishment of a global caliphate.

HTI was disbanded just a week after the Perppu was issued.

“No party can threaten or force PAN [to accept the Perppu], not even if our position [in the cabinet] is at stake. Even if we accept it, there’s no guarantee that it will keep us in the cabinet,” Yandri said.

Political factions are set to elaborate their final stance on Friday, before bringing the result of the deliberation to a plenary session next week, where lawmakers have to decide whether or not to legislate the Perppu into law. The parties rooting for the Perppu control 399 of the 560 seats at the House.

“We will definitely accept the Perppu. But we have to find ways to accommodate the concerns of those parties that reject it. Besides, we will also need to monitor the government so that it won’t abuse its power and misuse the Perppu,” PDI-P lawmaker Sirmadji said.

The House had held a one-week deliberation and welcomed a total of 18 legal experts and 22 mass organizations, including hard-liner Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), in addition to HTI representative to give their views on the Perppu.

Most of them pushed the House to reject the Perppu and instead propose an amendment to the 2013 law. They feared the regulation could be used to target all groups and restrict the freedom of association and expression.

Constitutional law expert Irman Putra Sidin said the Perppu was unconstitutional. “We should not exclude the judicial process because we are a nation based on the rule of law.”

Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) called on the House to be wise and careful in deciding whether to approve the Perppu or not, saying a rash decision could create unrest among religious groups.