State security bill needed, Muladi says<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice Muladi said on Monday that
\ndespite mounting criticism against the draft of the state
\nsecurity bill, the government would not veto it.<\/p>\n
Students told legislators on Monday that they rejected the
\ngovernment-sponsored state security bill because they feared it
\nwould allow excessive power of the military.<\/p>\n
Activists and scholars have also voiced protests against the
\nbill, saying the power of the authorities under the bill could
\neasily go unchecked.<\/p>\n
Muladi told reporters at the House of Representatives that the
\nlaw was needed to replace decree no. 23\/1959 which was \"very
\ndangerous\".<\/p>\n
The 1959 decree allows the government to announce a state of
\nemergency without prior consultation with other parties.<\/p>\n
The draft bill says such an announcement needs prior
\nconsultation with the president-appointed Council for Security
\nand Legal System, and the Council for National Defense and
\nSecurity.<\/p>\n
In response to allegations that the bill would be bad for
\nhuman rights, Muladi said, \"Don't judge the bill so quickly as a
\nbad one, we can discuss the difficult matters.\"<\/p>\n
Muladi said the government introduced the bill based on a
\ndecree of the People's Consultative Assembly from last November's
\nGeneral Session. The Assembly decree no. X\/1998 revokes the 1963
\nLaw on subversion.<\/p>\n
Muladi said while a state security law was needed, it would
\nnot be like the Internal Security Act applied in Singapore or
\nMalaysia, which he said was \"oppressive\".<\/p>\n
However he did not elaborate on the differences between the
\ndraft bill and the acts in the above countries.<\/p>\n
The country, he said, was facing a critical time, with unrest
\nin areas such as Ambon, Aceh and East Timor and with tens of
\nthousands of displaced people. There was the possibility that
\nunrest could spread to other areas, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The victims would be the common people,\" he said, adding it
\nwould be wrong to have no rules to anticipate the situation.<\/p>\n
In response to the question, which were the threats the
\ngovernment feared, Muladi said, \"Threats from outside the country
\nand from inside the country are linked.\"<\/p>\n
The remaining problem would be to ensure the law be enforced
\nwhile respecting human rights, Muladi, a former member of the
\nNational Commission for Human Rights, said.<\/p>\n
A legislator who met the students also told The Jakarta Post
\nthat replacing the decree was urgent because there was a
\npossibility that the government, if necessary, could impose the
\nstate of emergency at any time based on the 1959 decree, which
\ndoes not require any prior consultation with the House.<\/p>\n
\"But the United Development Party (PPP) will take into account
\nthe people's aspirations in improving the draft bill on state
\nsecurity\", Hadimulyo of the PPP said.<\/p>\n
A student leader, representing 27 state Islamic Studies
\nInstitutes from all over Indonesia, Tubagus Ace Hassan Sadeli,
\nsaid, \"The Indonesian Military (TNI) should provide safety for
\nall citizens rather than creating fear.\"<\/p>\n
The students also met the armed forces and Golkar factions.<\/p>\n
Given so much resistance to the bill, political scholar
\nNurcholish Madjid voiced earlier calls to drop its deliberation
\naltogether.<\/p>\n
\"Given the present psychological condition of society the new
\nlaw will be responded to with suspicion,\" he said after his
\ninstallment as the main researcher of the Indonesian Institute of
\nSciences (LIPI).<\/p>\n
Any case regarding security should use existing rules \"taking
\ninto account the spirit of reform\", he said. (05\/06)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/state-security-bill-needed-muladi-says-1447893297",
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