Many are hoping the government will not relax environmental protection rules in the follow-up regulations, but environmentalists remained skeptical.

According to the government’s website uu-ciptakerja.go.id, the government has drafted at least 61 government regulations (PP) and five presidential regulations (Perpres) as of Saturday as implementing regulations for the law. These regulations cover various topics, ranging from provisions on small and micro businesses to labor and environmental protection.

The House of Representatives passed the law on Oct. 5 last year, and it entered into force a month later after being signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

While the government insisted that the law was necessary to improve the business climate that was suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the general public and governance experts had slammed the passing of the law, saying the process was not transparent due to a lack of public involvement in the deliberation. Many were also concerned about the provisions on environmental protection and labor rights in the new law.

Responding to the protests, the government formed a team to gather insights from the public that will be used during the deliberation of the derivative regulations.

As of early February, the team had gathered 317 suggestions from 238 individuals and institutions.

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