Meanwhile, the Indonesian People’s Faction (FRI), the most vocal group opposing the law, has launched a campaign calling for a “civil disobedience”.

“The Job Creation Law contains legal violations and flaws, especially in the agriculture, horticulture, plantation, education, fishery and land sectors,” said a statement from the Kepal coalition, which includes Sawit Watch, Indonesia for Global Justice, the Indonesian Fishermen’s Union (SNI) and the Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI).

“Besides the substance of the law, we believe that the jobs law has violated the rules on lawmaking, which should have involved public participation at every stage of the [legislative] process, from the planning, formulation, deliberation [and] to the passing of the law.”

Kepal is viewed as an outlier among the many other progressive NGOs that have decided not to challenge the law at court. Earlier on Monday, another request for judicial review was filed by the Federation of Textile, Clothing and Leather Unions (FSP-TSK) of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPSI).

The FRI, one of the most vocal groups on the streets and on the internet that consists of dozens unions, NGOs and university students, including the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, has decided not to file a judicial review. Instead, it has opted to push to campaign for a motion of no confidence. The FRI posted its campaign banner on Nov. 6 to its Twitter account, @FraksiRakyatID, bearing a logo it is calling the “civil disobedience” logo.

Sebuah Simbol Perlawanan Rakyat dan Pembangkangan Sipil. Merah adalah simbol perlawanan rakyat yg tertindas di manapun berada termasuk di Indonesia

Kuning adalah simbol warna kekuasaan oligarki yg mencengkram di Indonesia,silangkan tangan pertanda gerakan rakyat menolak oligarki pic.twitter.com/VmtIcLkrZB

— Fraksi Rakyat Indonesia (@FraksiRakyatID) November 6, 2020

Asfinawati, who chairs the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) and is part of the FRI, said the foundation did not plan to petition the court anytime soon, even though it opposed the law. She said that she preferred pursuing civil disobedience over requesting a judicial review, as the method had been successful in revising Law No. 25/1997, which was replaced by Manpower Law No. 13/2013.

She added that the government was likely to find a way around to support the law’s agenda despite the many legal challenges filed with the Constitutional Court, such as by issuing other regulations. In addition, many people had doubts over the court’s independence, after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo asked it to support the jobs law and awarded its justices with medals just last week.

The President honored Constitutional Court justices Arief Hidayat, Anwar Usman and Aswanto with the Bintang Mahaputra Adipradana medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian award. He awarded three other justices, Wahiduddin Adams, Suhartoyo and Manahan Sitompul, with the Bintang Mahaputra Utama medal, the third-highest civilian award. The Constitutional Court has nine justices.

In 2018, the court’s ethics committee issued Arief a verbal warning regarding allegations that he had lobbied House of Representatives lawmakers to secure a second judicial term. The committee concluded that Arief had violated the code of ethics when he attended a meeting with House Commission III on legal affairs at a Jakarta hotel without a formal invitation.

Separately, Walhi national director Nur Hidayati said that requesting a judicial review of the jobs law amounted to recognizing its legitimacy. “We view the law as unconstitutional, so it is not legitimate in the first place,” said Nur.

The House passed the job creation omnibus bill on Oct. 5, ahead of a planned three-day rally by labor unions in a move that many criticized as “surreptitious”. The rallies went ahead following the bill’s approval and expanded into mass protests involving unions as well as students across the country that continued for at least three weeks. The mass action prompted pro-government politicians and officials to call on the protesters to petition the Constitutional Court instead of holding public rallies, particularly during the coronavirus health emergency.

According to the court’s website, the first legal challenge against the Job Creation Law was filed by Dewa Putu Reza and Ayu Putri on Oct. 12, the same date that the Singaperbangsa Workers Union Federation also filed a request for a judicial review of the law.

Following these petitions, Hakiimi Irawan Bangkid Pamungkas, Novita Widyana, Elin Dian Sulistiyowati, Alin Septiana and Ali Sujito filed a petition with the court on Oct. 15.

Zakarias Horota, Agustinus R. Kambuaya and Elias Patege submitted a separate petition on Oct. 20, but then withdrew their petition on Nov. 12.

On Nov. 2, the day the President signed the Job Creation Law, the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) filed its request for judicial review with the court.

KSPI president Said Iqbal told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the petition was one of four strategies the confederation was pursuing to challenge the law over both its substance and the legislative process. The other three were public protests, submitting a motion for legislative review with the House, and a sustained public campaign.

“We have [identified] nine major flaws in the law, one of which is [the provision] on minimum wage,” Iqbal.

On Nov. 6, president Elly Rosita Silaban and secretary-general Dedi Hardianto of the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperity Trade Unions (KSBSI) filed a separate petition for judicial review of the omnibus law.

Elly said the KSBSI’s petition referred to its disappointment over the law’s drafting process.

“We were hoping to [have an opportunity] to influence the omnibus bill by attending the deliberation meetings. But what was produced is different than what we expected, so we are rightfully disappointed,” she told the Post. She added that the entire process of drafting the bill was problematic, and that the court should review it also.

At least four different versions of the approved bill were in circulation before Jokowi signed the “official” 1,187-page bill into law on Nov. 2. The House and the government were lambasted for allegedly attempting to smokescreen the legislative process and deny public participation, as neither the public nor legal experts were able to review the legislation before its enactment.

As for individual petitions, Herman Dambea, a commissioner of the Gorontalo-based PT Radio Al-Adha, filed a petition last Friday, while the latest individual petition was filed on Nov. 20 by attorneys Ignatius Supriyadi, Sidik and Janteri.