Academics: In Modern Democracy, Streamlining Institutional Structures Is an Important Issue

An academic in Law at Binus University, Muhammad Reza Syarifuddin Zaki, questioned the urgency of forming the National Defence Council (DPN). He argued that the existence of the DPN could burden the state budget.

‘If we look at it carefully, as this institution has been operating for several years, our task from a legal perspective is to attempt to provide a study on regulatory impact assessment (RIA). This is useful to detect whether the institution is useful or not, beneficial or not, contextual or not with current conditions,’ Reza said during a discussion in Jakarta, quoted on Thursday, 21 May 2026.

He highlighted the lack of civil society involvement in supervising the institutional system. Moreover, he said, within its formulation the institution includes a deputy for geopolitics, geo-economics, and geostrategy.

‘This must be seen as a shadow of power, where there is then a duality of power,’ Reza said.

On the other hand, he assessed that the State Budget (APBN) could be used for other priority areas, such as the economy, development, and education.

Meanwhile, UNAS political science academic, Firdaus Syam, stated that many countries such as the US, Japan, and several other countries have neat state structures.

‘In a modern democracy, a clean and well-structured state apparatus is characterised by streamlining the state’s institutional structure, not by expanding or thickening its structure,’ Firdaus said.

‘Meanwhile in Indonesia, the cabinet is large, and the supporting bodies of the executive, judiciary, and legislature are numerous, including the emergence of other bodies such as the DPN,’ he added.

According to Firdaus, if the DPN’s existence is mandated for geopolitical, geo-economic, and geostrategic affairs, it should be led by people who have expertise in those fields.

‘Because of the lack of clarity, and provisions that are subject to interpretation, there is a tendency to broaden the meaning of defence into civilian affairs; I think we all, as the public, need to criticise the existence of the DPN. The reason is to ensure efficiency of government, the state budget, and the machinery of government can operate well,’ he concluded.