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.