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Deals with Singapore face scrutiny by lawmakers
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This handout photo released by the Presidential Palace shows President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (right) posing with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (left) prior to their leader’s meeting in Bintan island, across the Singapore Strait dividing the two countries, on Jan. 25, 2022. (AFP/Laily Rachev)
T
he three strategic agreements Indonesia signed with Singapore last week have faced growing criticism and scrutiny among lawmakers, prompting questions about whether the government will secure enough support to get the bundle of deals ratified by the House of Representatives.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo last week met Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, during which they oversaw the signing of agreements to realign the Flight Information Region (FIR), revise the extradition treaty and renew a commitment to fulfill an existing defense cooperation agreement (DCA), all of which have yet to be ratified by the House.
During the meeting, Indonesia and Singapore also exchanged letters that would lock in the three major deals to come into force simultaneously, putting pressure on Indonesian lawmakers to ratify all the agreements at once.
The ratification at the House will likely be led either by Commission I overseeing defense and foreign policy or Commission III overseeing legal affairs and security, or cross-commission by forming a special team. This will be decided after the President sends a letter to the House leadership asking for the deals to be ratified.
Commission III member Arsul Sani said that while lawmakers welcomed the extradition treaty, which they deemed beneficial for Indonesia, especially in repatriating corrupt individuals who have fled or are trying to conceal ill-gotten assets, the House was still waiting for the government's detailed explanation of the FIR and DCA deals.
“The extradition treaty is needed so the benefits can be predicted. But the House still needs further explanation on the FIR and DCA,” Arsul of the United Development Party (PPP) said on Thursday.
As of Thursday, lawmakers of Commission I and III said they had not received a full picture of what the agreements entailed as the government had not released the official documents to the public.
