Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – Environmental watchdog Satya Bumi lamented the government's enactment of regulation in lieu of law or Perppu No. 2 of 2022 concerning Job Creation, replacing Law No. 11 of 2022 which had been declared conditionally unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in November 2021.
Satya Bumi Deputy Director Andi Muttaqien, said that the substance of the Perppu was not much different from the Job Creation Law. "The Job Creation Perppu copies articles in the Job Creation Law which are harmful to the environment," Andi said in a written statement on Friday, January 6, 2023.
One of the articles considered to be threatening the environment is the changes to Article 18 of the Forestry Law. This regulation removes the provision for the minimum area of forest area that must be maintained to optimize the environmental, social, and economic benefits of the local community which was previously regulated in the Forestry Law.
Andi explained that before being revised in the omnibus law, the Forestry Law stipulated that the government should maintain a forest area equivalent to 30 percent of a watershed or an island area.
The Perppu, he assessed, was a government's shortcut as they were reluctant to follow the Constitutional Court's ruling to amend the law within two years, and instead committed deception using the pretext of climate change and investment issues as an excuse for the urgency.
"We don't need improvements with the Perppu, but with the law in which the formation process should be carried out in a transparent manner and includes the meaningful participation of the public and relevant stakeholders in accordance with the Constitutional Court's verdict," Andi emphasized.
Annisa Rahmawati, the Executive Director of Satya Bumi, also urged President Jokowi to cancel the Perppu and asked the Indonesian Parliament to reject the regulation. The Constitutional Court is also expected to declare that the formation of the Perppu is not in accordance with the constitution.
Annisa also argued that the issuance of this Job Creation Perppu has great potential to create a new crisis that can undermine democracy and good governance, which is being developed. "President Jokowi in his last term should leave a good legacy, instead of the other way around," she said.