Legislator says new bill contrary to 1945 Constitution<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A legislator is charging that a bill on limited
\ncompanies, to be reviewed soon by the House of Representatives,
\ndoes little to address the ascendancy of laissez faire capitalism
\nin Indonesia, which has spurred the growth of conglomerates and
\nmonopolies.<\/p>\n
Representative Aberson Marle Sihaloho told The Jakarta Post
\nyesterday that the bill also contradicts the 1945 Constitution,
\nwhich stipulates that society must be constructed to protect the
\nwelfare of all.<\/p>\n
"Even the Commercial Code of 1938 which will be replaced by
\nthe new legislation ... stipulates some articles to protect
\nminority shareholders," Sihaloho said, referring to the 1938
\nDutch legislation.<\/p>\n
He stressed the importance of limiting the votes of powerful
\nprivate shareholders in listed companies.<\/p>\n
The bill, on limited-liability companies (Perseroan Terbatas)
\nwhich contains 128 articles, was finally submitted to the House
\nlast month after 20 years of revisions.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Justice initially proposed the bill in 1974 to
\nthe State Secretariat, but changes in the business world required
\nrevisions.<\/p>\n
According to Sihaloho, a representative from the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party, the bill should adhere to Article 33 of the
\n1945 Constitution which stipulates that the economy be managed
\nfor the public interest.<\/p>\n
Family system<\/p>\n
The first paragraph of Article 33 states: "The economy shall
\nbe organized as a common endeavor based upon the principle of the
\nfamily system."<\/p>\n
"One-share-one-vote is the basic principle of capitalism,"
\nSihaloho said, as if to remind the public that the independence
\nof Indonesia was pursued to fight against capitalism.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Soedargo Gautama, a lawyer who helped write the
\nbill, said that the long delay in the completion of the bill was
\ncaused by the demand from foreign investors for the
\none-share-one-vote principle.<\/p>\n
Soedargo was quoted by Tempo weekly as saying, "We could
\nunderstand the demand, as major shareholders they surely do not
\nwant to be treated equitably with the minority ones."<\/p>\n
Another noted lawyer, Komar Kantaatmadja, however, sees
\nremarkable progress in the bill in that it stipulates the
\nprotection of minority shareholders.<\/p>\n
The bill, for example, rules that decisions on mergers,
\nacquisitions and liquidation shall be taken at a meeting which is
\nattended by at least 75 percent of the shareholders and shall be
\nadopted by at least 75 percent of the quorum.<\/p>\n
Closed firm<\/p>\n
Sihaloho also noted that the bill allows for large firms to
\nobtain a monopoly in a strategic industry even though they are
\nprivately-owned, usually by members of one family.<\/p>\n
He called this a "closed company" to differentiate it from a
\nlisted company or public firm.<\/p>\n
"It's unfair. It means that the bill tolerates the
\naccumulation of capital by a certain group just like in the
\npresent situation," Sihaloho said.<\/p>\n
He pointed to the privately-owned PT Bogasari Flour Mills as
\nan example. This firm has gained abundant benefit from its
\nmonopoly in the production and distribution of wheat flour in
\nIndonesia since the 1970s, at the expense of society at large.<\/p>\n
The legislator said that a large corporation such as Bogasari,
\nshould be forced to go public because to redress the injustice
\nand redistribute at least some of the capital.<\/p>\n
The majority shareholder of the Jakarta-based Bogasari is PT
\nIndocement Tunggal Perkasa, which is controlled by Indonesia's
\nnumber one tycoon, Liem Sioe Liong and Sudwikatmono, a
\npolitically connected entertainment mogul.<\/p>\n
Sihaloho said that the bill on limited companies should be
\ndelivered to the House in a package with other bills on trusts,
\nsmall businesses, capital markets and balancing the money
\nallocated to the central government and provincial
\nadministrations.(09\/vin)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/legislator-says-new-bill-contrary-to-1945-constitution-1447893297",
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