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Yearender 2020: A year of lawmaking controversies
The end of 2020 marks the conclusion of another year of controversy in the lawmaking process at the House of Representatives, revealing the lawmakers' bent towards business interests and neglect of local communities.
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Protesters burn the Bundaran HI Transjakarta bus stop at Jl. MH Thamrin, Jakarta, on Oct. 8, 2020. Thousands of workers and students held a rally to reject the new Job Creation Law. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
T
he end of 2020 marks the conclusion of yet another year of controversy over the lawmaking process at the House of Representatives, which deliberated bills that set off widespread protests last year such as the revision to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) law.
This year, at least three contentious pieces of legislation -- the Mining Law, the Job Creation Law and the Constitutional Court Law -- were passed by the House, much to the dismay of the public, who accused lawmakers of using the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext for nontransparent deliberations.
Mining Law
The House passed a revision to the 2009 Mining Law in a plenary session in May.
The new law, jointly drafted by the House and the government despite being listed as a priority bill under the House initiative in this year’s National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), is aimed at developing the downstream mining industry and simplifying and centralizing bureaucratic processes.
Proponents of the law said it provided legal certainty for investment in such industries.
But civil groups and experts criticized the changes as aligning with business interests and sidelining regional autonomy, environmental protection and local communities.
