Bima Arya Asserts Revocation of Mass Organisations' Permits Cannot Be Done Arbitrarily

The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Bima Arya Sugiarto, has emphasised that the government cannot unilaterally revoke the permits of mass organisations (ormas) without a strong legal basis. The process of revoking legality must be preceded by proof of violations against the state foundation, the constitution, or prevailing laws and regulations.

Bima revealed that, to date, the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) has not received any official reports from the public regarding mass organisations deemed to be causing unrest for further follow-up. So far, information received has been limited to monitoring through mass media reports.

“Officially, there are none. We are only monitoring through the media,” Bima Arya stated when met at Graha Marinir, Jakarta, on Tuesday (1/9).

He explained that the handling of mass organisations depends heavily on the legal status of the organisation. The government needs to verify whether the organisation in question is a registered organisation or has attained legal entity status.

This difference in status, Bima continued, determines which ministry has the authority to take administrative action. Registered organisations fall under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs, while organisations with legal entity status fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Law.

“There will be a process later at the Ministry of Law, but there must certainly be proof first, whether there are violations of the state foundation, the constitution, and so on,” he asserted.

Bima emphasised that public unrest or allegations circulating in society cannot serve as the sole basis for dissolution. Legal mechanisms remain the primary authority in determining the legal fate of an organisation.

“Once again, the process requires us to check first whether this organisation is registered or a legal entity. If it is a legal entity, there is a legal process involved in accordance with the law,” he concluded.