Bill on Batam FTZ 'unconstitutional'
Bill on Batam FTZ 'unconstitutional'
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The House of Representatives' controversial endorsement of its
bill to grant Batam Island free trade zone status (FTZ) is
unconstitutional and served to confirm the legislature's attempts
to usurp power from the executive, according to a constitutional
law expert.
J.E. Sahetapy, a lecturer at Surabaya's Airlangga University
said on Wednesday that a bill could only be passed after both the
House and the government agreed on its endorsement.
"It is clearly stipulated in the Constitution, as amended,
that a bill requires the agreement of both the government and the
House before it can be endorsed," Sahetapy said, quoting Article
20 of the 1945 Constitution.
He said the nine factions in the House that agreed to pass the
bill had handed the government what he described as a "fait
accompli".
"On the grounds that they only have a little time before they
end their terms, the legislators have attempted to railroad the
government into accepting the bill," he told The Jakarta Post.
The current House will end its term on Sept. 30.
Sahetapy, who is also a lawmaker, said that this sort of
behavior would only result in poor quality legislation.
"The newly-endorsed bill can easily be challenged by the
government before the Constitutional Court. All in all, the
bill's deliberation has been a waste of time and money," he said,
adding that the government could also request that the bill be
revised after the new intake of legislators was sworn in.
He suggested that "vested interests" -- meaning those who are
reaping big profits in Batam -- were behind the bill's hasty
endorsement.
A House plenary session on Tuesday endorsed the bill, which
confers free trade zone status on Batam Island, despite the
government's opposition.
The government, represented by Minister of Justice and Human
Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra, demanded further deliberation of the
bill and cave in on three contentious issues, including whether
the whole of Batam island would be declared a free trade zone.
Contacted separately, constitutional law expert Sri Soemantri
of Bandung's Padjadjaran University blamed the ambiguity of
Article 20 of the Constitution on the controversy surrounding the
bill's endorsement.
"Article 20 (1) states that the House has the right to
initiate legislation, with no mention at all about the role of
the government. However, section (2) of the same article states
that a bill must be jointly deliberated by the government and the
House, and its endorsement must be agreed to by both sides," he
told the Post.
Soemantri said the Constitution had given a powerful
legislative role to the House, but this could be almost
immediately negated by the government.
He said that as the Constitution now stood, the House could
unilaterally endorse the bill. "However, the problem is, who will
enact it?" he said.
Prior to this latest controversial endorsement of a bill by
the House, the President had refused to sign bills on manpower
protection, the education system and the establishment of Riau
Islands province.
Even without the president's consent, a bill automatically
enters into effect one month after its endorsement by the House.