The government has proposed that the ministry be merged with the Education and Culture Ministry and that the authority to oversee research be bestowed on the National Research Agency (BRIN), which will become an independent state agency.

On April 8, President Jokowi sent a letter to the House of Representatives, seeking the legislative body’s consideration on his plan to merge the two ministries and to create a new ministry tasked with investment affairs.

The 2008 State Ministries Law limits the number of ministries in the Cabinet at 34, leaving the President with no choice but to replace an existing ministry with a new one.

Read also: Indonesia prepares new agency to bolster research and innovation

The House’s Steering Committee (Bamus) discussed the President’s plan on the same day and brought it to the House plenary meeting on Friday, where all nine political parties agreed to endorse the plan.

Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad from Gerindra Party said the new ministry on investment was expected to lure investment into the country and create more job opportunities. However, he did not specify the task for the merged ministries on education, cultural affairs and research.

More power for BRIN

The government has not yet revealed further details on the tasks of the merged ministries, but Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said the merger would give the National Research Agency (BRIN), currently led by the research and technology minister, a bigger role in overseeing research across the country.

“BRIN will report directly to the President as an important [institution] to speed up our science and technology development,” Hasto said in a statement issued by the party on Saturday.

While the party supported the government’s decision to merge the two ministries and establish BRIN, he said the party’s chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri, had told Jokowi about the importance of such an agency upon backing him as a presidential candidate.

“Ibu [Megawati] said we need BRIN, so the nation and country can be independent. The body is really important to build our spirit up by mastering science and technology,” said Hasto.

BRIN was established at the start of Jokowi’s second presidential term in October 2019. The agency had the same status as the Research and Technology Ministry in the Indonesia Onward Cabinet. Jokowi appointed Bambang Brodjonegoro to lead the ministry and the agency.

Read also: New research agency juggles limited funding

At that time, Bambang said the agency would put two leading research bodies – the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency (BPPT) – under its authority, alongside dozens of research and development bodies in each of 34 state ministries.

The President issued a presidential regulation that served as the legal basis for the establishment of BRIN. But the regulation was only in force until Dec. 31, 2019, as the agency was mandated to reorganize itself to get in line with the President’s vision.

Bambang said during a recent discussion that a follow-up regulation on BRIN had not passed the Law and Human Rights Ministry.

“Some wanted BRIN to be an independent agency tasked with conducting research by itself. I wasn’t in favor of such an approach. Therefore, we encountered a deadlock,” Bambang said in a discussion held by the Habibie Program Alumni Association on Sunday.

He added that the government had rejected his suggestion to vest the authority over higher education institutions in the Research and Technology Ministry, as universities and colleges were mainly related to research -- unlike primary and secondary education.

“I personally felt uneasy with this, because this means I will be the last Research and Technology Minister,” Bambang said.

Concerns about politicization of research

Researchers criticized the government’s decision to merge the ministries and turn BRIN into an independent agency, saying authorities gave science and research less attention than investment.

Centre for Innovation Policy and Governance (CIPG) advisor Yanuar Nugroho said the merger was done so the government could make way for a new ministry on investment.

Yanuar further said that this shake-up would increase the administrative burden on the merged ministries and on researchers, potentially hindering the latter from continuing their studies. The ministry would also not be focused on making policies on research, as it already had managed hundreds and thousands of lower schools across the country.

The ministry would also not be focused on making policies on research, as it already had managed hundreds and thousands of lower schools across the country.

“Furthermore, policies on research and innovation could be neglected,” Yanuar said.

Apart from the overburdened ministry, BRIN might also be prone to politicization in setting the country’s research agenda, said Indonesian Young Academy of Science (ALMI) secretary-general Berry Juliandi.

He said the agency, with a head to be personally picked by the President, might interfere with any research results that were not desirable by, among other efforts, censoring them.

“Government officials also tend to have low literacy in science and technology, so they sometimes don’t check and recheck [when supporting certain research],” Berry said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Indonesia in 2020, the government assigned BRIN to spearhead and coordinate the country’s research on advanced pandemic countermeasures. One of the inventions to mitigate the outbreak is GeNose, a coronavirus breathalyzer invented by Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

The government has endorsed the invention and widely used the equipment for traveling, tourism and other public activities, but some scientists have expressed doubt over its accuracy because of a lack of transparency in its development.

Read also: Doubts linger over GeNose COVID-19 breathalyzer

Berry urged the government to open the position of BRIN’s deputies for the public to make sure that only professionals could fill the posts. “Whoever leads the body, it should be managed professionally with [competent] deputies.”

Meanwhile, the government is planning to upgrade the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) into the Investment Ministry, Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister spokesperson Jodi Mahardi told Kompas. However, he refused to reveal more details on the matter.

Currently, three institutions in Indonesia are tasked with coordinating the regulation, licensing and implementation of investment projects: the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and the Indonesia Investment Authority (LPI).

-- Tri Indah Oktavianti has contributed to this story.

Popular

To my horror, it’s just a movie!

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Pentagon chief congratulates Prabowo on being elected President