On Thursday, the House unanimously greenlit a proposal to revise the law regulating the Presidential Advisory Board (Wantimpres) to revive the New Order era supreme advisory board (DPA), despite opposition from critics who described it as a return to authoritarianism.

The decision means that the lawmakers are one step closer to starting a formal deliberation with the government on the bill, which seeks to change the status of the council from being under the President to a “state institution” that is separated from the executive branch and “equal to other state institutions”.

This came only two days after the House’s Legislation Body (Baleg) finished drafting the proposed revision, which also seeks to remove the limit on the number of council members and allow political party leaders to be members.

Critics have said the plan is an attempt to reward those who have helped Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka win the February presidential election, with new, higher positions on the council.

The proposal to revise the Wantimpres Law adds to the growing list of controversial bills being pushed to the legislature months before Prabowo, currently the defense minister, assumes the presidency in October.

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