As our intelligence community is struggling hard to improve itself and provide early and accurate information to the country’s top decision makers in the wake of several incidents of mob violence nationwide and a series of bomb attacks in Jakarta, a severe tug-of-war is occurring at the House of Representatives on the scope of the authority that the nation’s intelligence agencies should have.

Providing intelligence agencies with a legal umbrella is undoubtedly necessary to ensure that they act within the Constitution and the limits of the law.

The problem is that some articles in the government-drafted intelligence bill currently under deliberation at the House are counter to universally recognized human rights principles, such as the presumption of innocence and equality before the law.