The House of Representatives is pushing for an amendment to the 43-year-old Agrarian Law, saying that the regulation is no longer relevant and has paved the way for numerous civilian conflicts linked to land disputes.
Abdul Hakam Naja, deputy chairman of House Commission II, which overseas home and agrarian affairs, said that one crucial issue that needs to be updated in the 1960 law is the mechanism for land dispute resolutions.
"The agrarian bill is the initiative of the Commission II and has been formulated since 2012. The bill, if passed into law, will replace as well as update the 1960 Agrarian Law, which is no longer relevant to solving the land issues of today," he said.
Land disputes in Indonesia often take a violent turn resulting in bloody clashes between civilians and law enforcers. The Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA) earlier reported that there were 198 conflicts linked to land disputes last year, resulting in at least 25 farmers being shot and three killed.
Abdul said the proposed amendment also needs to be in line with related laws passed after the Agrarian Law, like the laws on agriculture, forestry, mining and land provision for state infrastructure projects.
"There are many conflicts linked to land disputes in a number of areas and these usually involve the local communities and plantation owners, mining concession holders or other institutions," the National Mandate Party (PAN) lawmaker said.
"There needs to be an agrarian law which offers solutions to these kinds of situations. The [proposed] Agrarian Law will function as a bridge linking these sectorial laws, especially on land-related issues."
The House is also seeking more proportionate land use in the concessions given to companies and local communities with the proposed amendment in the hopes it will stem future violence as well as help further the development of local economies.
"This is what we are trying to formulate in our deliberation of the bill, so there will be regulatory uniformity on all concessions. In the future, [concessions] will not be given just based on a ministerial decree," he said.
"By just relying on a ministerial decree, the rules can easily be bent. If a minister is given full authority to manage concessions, private companies may end up controlling hundreds of thousands of hectares of land. This is against the principles of justice."
But the bill will give the government authority to take over abandoned or neglected properties and convert them to housing projects for low income families.
"With the new agrarian bill we will ensure that farmers and local communities can optimize the use of their own land," he said.
Earlier some academics warned that land disputes will again be rampant as next year's election draws near.
"The easiest way to get money for elections is by granting licenses without control," said Myrna A. Safitri, executive director of forest research group the Epistema Institute.
"We know that one of the bad consequences of granting these licenses is that they don't do private consultation and don't act with the consent of the communities."
The academics petitioned President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to review all laws and regulations pertaining to the use of natural resources, and for the head of the National Land Agency to reassess the legitimacy of land rights granted to enterprises now in conflict with local communities.