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House passes Perppu on job creation despite public opposition
The House of Representatives passed President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s controversial government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on job creation on Tuesday despite mounting accusations of attempts to circumvent a previous Constitutional Court’s ruling regarding the issue.
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Still contentious: Students and members of the Workers and People Movement (Gebrak) hold a rally on May 21, 2022, near the Arjuna Wijaya Statue in Central Jakarta to demand the Job Creation Law be revoked. (Antara/Asprilla Dwi Adha)
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he House of Representatives passed President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s controversial government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on job creation on Tuesday despite mounting accusations of attempts to circumvent a previous Constitutional Court’s (MK) ruling regarding the issue.
Jokowi signed in December 2022 the Perppu on job creation to resuscitate the Job Creation Law, which was declared "conditionally unconstitutional" by the MK in 2021 because it used the unrecognized omnibus method to revise multiple laws at once and was deliberated with minimal public participation. The court ordered the government and the House to redo the law-making process within two years or it would be permanently revoked. Instead, the government issued the Perppu after it cut corners with lawmakers by enacting another law that allows the use of omnibus methods.
The Perppu, which must be passed by a House plenary session to become permanent legislation, has secured majority support from Baleg at the end of a two-day meeting between lawmakers and the government in February, with all progovernment parties firmly supporting the government’s decision from the get-go.
"Seven political party factions have agreed [to pass the regulation], while two factions, the PKS [Prosperous Justice Party] and Democratic Party [Democrats] raised objections," House speaker Puan Maharani of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said during the House plenary session on Tuesday.
PKS walked out of the plenary session while the Democrats interrupted the meeting and warned the Perppu posed more problems than it offered solutions.
Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, who attended Tuesday’s plenary session, cited an urgent need to mitigate the global economic crisis that could potentially affect the country’s economy as the rationale behind the issuance.
“The perfect storm due to economic growth, climate change, war, even digital banks that are having problems in America [the United States], and might hit Indonesia, needs a quick response here,” Airlangga told lawmakers.
