Govt to file new freedom of expression bill

JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to submit a second bill seeking to regulate freedom of expression after withdrawing the first one on Tuesday amid signs that the legislation would not have passed the House of Representatives' scrutiny.

Minister of Justice Muladi said the government intended to submit the new bill as soon as possible and hoped the House would begin its first reading on Friday.

"We're waiting for the President's signature," Muladi told journalists after attending a House of Representatives plenary session during which the government announced its decision to withdraw the first bill.

The first bill was widely criticized not only for its content, which many felt would curtail people's right to demonstrate, but also because the government had invoked a state of emergency by proposing a government regulation in lieu of a law.

This method meant that the House had to give a speedy reading of the legislation. It circumvented the lengthy process that laws have to go through to get House approval.

During the plenary session, Armed Forces Commander/Minister of Defense and Security Gen. Wiranto announced the government's decision to withdraw the bill. His word were greeted with huge applause from the floor.

Wiranto quickly added that the government would submit a new bill soon without invoking the state of emergency clause permitted under the 1945 Constitution.

He also indicated that the content would be amended in view of various public protests.

The first bill was drafted by the Ministry of Defense and Security. It proposed limiting street demonstrations to a maximum of 50 persons. Anything larger would require police permission. The bill also stipulated that the media had to obtain police permission before reporting on the content of any demonstration.

Wiranto said on Tuesday the government would drop the media permit clause. The second bill would also raise the maximum number of street protesters to 100 before police permission was required, he said.

The first bill passed the second reading last week with only the United Development Party (PPP) faction categorically opposing both the content of the bill and the method by which it was presented to ensure speedy passage through the House.

The other factions simply said they were prepared to debate the contentious points.

The government had earlier maintained that the situation in the country had been so critical due to widespread violent street protests that it believed many demonstrations had led to the destruction of property and even loss of life. But it never officially announced that the country was in a state of emergency.

In April, the government also invoked the state of emergency clause when presenting the bankruptcy bill. The document was duly deliberated and passed by the House in August because it was needed to allow creditors to initiate bankruptcy proceedings in court to repossess money from corporations that were technically bankrupt under massive unpaid debts.

The government's decision to withdraw the bill was lauded even by one of its most ardent critics, labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan, who was in the House gallery to watch the plenary session.

"That's a wise move. I agree we need a law regulating street protests, but it must be openly debated," he said.

Legislators Andi Matalatta of the dominant Golkar faction and Bachtiar Chamsyah of the Moslem-based United Development Party said they were ready to deliberate the new bill.

"If it is a bill for a law, then it's our duty to deliberate it," Bachtiar said.

Andi said deliberation of the second bill would be fast because much of the content had been widely debated by the public, and the government had taken note of the objections.

Former Army chief of staff Gen. (ret) Rudini defended on Tuesday the government's proposal to regulate protests, saying that such a measure was needed for the sake of the protesters themselves.

Protesters should inform the police about the venue of their protest and the route they intend to take if they plan to hold a march.

"The security apparatus needs this information so that they can provide protesters with protection and prevent any intruders or agent provocateur from infiltrating the group," Rudini, also former minister of home affairs, said after addressing a seminar on nationalism at the National Resilience Institute.

He did not think that such a law would tamper with people's democratic rights. "People are free to express their opinions but they must be done in compliance with regulations," he said. (imn/aan)