Disaster mitigation bill aims to boost coordination

Disaster mitigation bill aims to boost coordination

Tony Hotland
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

A disaster mitigation bill currently being debated by lawmakers
seeks the creation of a national body tasked with the
coordination of the handling as well as prevention of all kinds
of disasters, with an orientation toward saving lives.

The bill places much of the responsibility on the government,
but puts some of the onus on the public in terms of prevention,
especially for man-made disasters.

The bill is a priority legislation given the fragility of
Indonesia in the face of disasters, notably last year's
earthquake and tsunami that hit Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and
claimed around 230,000 lives.

Aside from natural disasters, the bill includes accidents,
fires, riots, social unrest and pollution as man-made disasters
that shall receive equal attention from the government.

The bill requires standard safety measures in all public
facilities to prevent disasters or mitigates their effects. These
include fire extinguishers, emergency alarms and seaworthy
certificates for boats and ships.

The bill, which is still being debated by the House of
Representatives Commission VIII for religious and social affairs,
seeks the creation of a national disaster mitigation body
comprising of various government and public elements that works
full time to prevent and mitigate disasters.

Head of the House deliberation team Aisyah Hamid Baidlowi said
this body would coordinate with similar, but smaller bodies
established in the regions to speed up rescue and rehabilitation
efforts in a specific disaster-struck location.

"What happened in Aceh or Nias must not happen again. People
were left hungry for days after the tragedy because coordination
was poor and rescue efforts were slow. These bodies are to work
full time even when there's no threat of disaster to boost the
public alert system," she said.

All victims, according to the bill, are entitled to emergency
aid of a minimum standard -- clean water, sanitation, shelter,
and food. The funds are basically derived from regional budgets,
but may also be taken from the state budget.

"Unlike now where funds for disasters are taken from the
miscellaneous post, the bill will oblige the government to allot
a special portion of the state budget for disaster funds. The
figure is still being debated though," said Aisyah.

On the management of financial aid from local and
international donors, the House has proposed a one-door receiving
and distribution mechanism through the aforementioned national
body.

"That is to ease the auditing system. But again, we will have
to discuss it with the government, including the National
Development Planning Agency (Bappenas)," Aisyah said.

In fulfilling its responsibility, the government is also to be
given the authority to move residents from areas declared as
disaster prone and invalidate residents' rights to their property
there.

"Yes, this sounds really serious, but the idea is to save as
many lives as possible. But we will have to consult more legal
experts, including the public works ministry, on this specific
item," Aisyah said.

On legal sanctions, the bill holds liable anyone who directly
or indirectly participates in activities that lead to disasters
with a maximum punishment of 10-years imprisonment and a maximum
fine of Rp 1 billion (US$105,263). If the activity causes death,
the prison sentence is increased to a maximum of 15 years.

"The bill also opens the possibility for class actions, even
aimed at the government, by the public," said Aisyah.

She said the bill was not finalized yet, and the commission
planned to involve more experts in the deliberation. The House
expects the bill to be discussed with the government soon and be
endorsed in August at the latest.