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Govt prepares implementing regulations for omnibus bill on job creation

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia said Tuesday the government had been preparing the implementing regulations for the articles in the bill that had been agreed upon by lawmakers.

Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, September 8, 2020

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Govt prepares implementing regulations for omnibus bill on job creation Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia walks at the State Palace. Bahlil said Tuesday the government had been preparing the implementing regulations for the articles in the bill that had been agreed upon by lawmakers. (JP/Donny Fernando)

T

he government has begun preparing regulations so the omnibus bill on job creation can be implemented within a month after being passed into law, expected to be in October, an official has said.

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia said Tuesday the government had been preparing the implementing regulations for the articles in the bill that had been agreed upon by lawmakers.

“We have prepared the concepts of the government regulations,” Bahlil said in a virtual presser on Tuesday. “They will only need some adjustments if there are any changes to the articles.”

The government is trying to revise 79 prevailing laws and more than 1,200 articles with the omnibus bill. The bill, which is more than 1,000 pages long and contains 174 articles in 15 chapters, has faced backlash from labor unions, observers and NGOs that argue it will jeopardize labor rights and weaken environmental protection, among other issues.

Read also: Omnibus bill could hurt labor, environmental protections: World Bank

Lawmakers are expected to discuss issues related to the employment provisions in the bill this month to accommodate proposed revisions on wages, severance pay, layoffs and social security, among other things, that were submitted by 18 labor unions in August.

The government expects the bill to address many overlapping regulations and help attract investment to support economic growth and create jobs.

Bahlil, however, admitted that the bill might not have any significant impact on investment this year, adding that the effects were expected to be felt next year. The government expects to attract Rp 817.2 trillion (US$55.4 billion) in investment this year.

“We estimate that growth [in investment next year] could be 2 to 3 percent higher than normal growth. But, we need to adjust the data to take into account [the impacts of] COVID-19,” said Bahlil.

Investment increased 12.2 percent year-on-year (yoy) in 2019, much higher than the 4.1 percent recorded in 2018.

BKPM reported in late July that Rp 191.9 trillion in investment had been recorded in the second quarter of this year, 4.3 percent lower than the same period last year. Domestic investment fell 1.4 percent yoy and foreign direct investment fell 6.9 percent yoy.

However, Bahlil said his office estimated the investment figures in the July-September period would be better than the figures in the April-June period.

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