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.