Govt stands firm on Batam bill<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite its endorsement by the House of Representatives, the
\nBatam free trade zone (FTZ) will not materialize due to the
\ngovernment's opposition, a minister says.<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra told
\nreporters on Saturday that President Megawati Soekarnoputri had
\nrefused to sign the FTZ bill into law.<\/p>\n
\"Even if the House endorsed it, the bill cannot be enacted
\ninto law without the government's consent,\" he said, referring to
\narticle 22 of the Constitution, which requires a bill to be
\nagreed to by both the government and the House before it can
\nbecome law.<\/p>\n
The article also says that if a bill is rejected by the
\ngovernment, the draft cannot be moved again during the same
\nsession of the House.<\/p>\n
\"This means that the article that says that a bill
\nautomatically becomes law 30 days after its endorsement by the
\nHouse if the president refuses to give her consent is not
\napplicable,\" Yusril said.<\/p>\n
He had earlier said that the issue would have to be settled by
\nthe new government and the House during the next House session.<\/p>\n
The fate of Batam's free trade zone, therefore, remains up in
\nthe air following the controversy over the bill's endorsement by
\nthe House.<\/p>\n
The controversy arose following the decision of the House
\nplenary session on Sept. 14 to pass the bill despite the House's
\nearlier agreement with the government on Sept. 10 to drop it due
\nto disagreements on several contentious articles.<\/p>\n
One of the disputed articles in the government-proposed bill
\nis the plan to limit FTZ status to certain industrial areas on
\nthe island, known also as \"enclave FTZs\", while the House bill
\nenvisages the whole of Batam Island be granted full FTZ status.<\/p>\n
The other disputed article concerns the authority to manage
\nseaports and the airport on Batam. The government wants to retain
\nthis authority, while the House says that it should be delegated
\nto the local administration.<\/p>\n
The House had actually completed its own draft a few years
\nago, but the government rejected it, and drafted its own version
\ninstead, which was submitted to the House for deliberation.<\/p>\n
To settle the dispute, the Constitutional Court has suggested
\nthat the government challenge the bill before the court.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-stands-firm-on-batam-bill-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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