House plans to revise the population law
House plans to revise the population law
Sari P. Setiogi
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
The House of Representatives Commission VII on health and
population is proposing a revision to Law No. 10/1992 on
population growth and family welfare.
Commission chairman Posma Tobing told The Jakarta Post
Wednesday that the amendment was necessary as the current law did
not fit with regional autonomy, which came into effect in 2001.
"The law was drafted when the country was adopting a
centralized system, therefore most policies came from the top."
He said that after the inception of regional autonomy there
was the possibility that regional administrations were ignoring
population issues as central government control relaxed.
Citing an example, Posma said the role of the National Family
Planning Board (BKKBN) at regional level had been considerably
reduced as it used to carry out programs at the behest of the
central government.
Posma said population was a national issue and should be of
concern to each regional administration in the country.
The current law did not enable the country to deal with global
issues related to population, particularly gender issues, men's
participation, reproduction rights and infertility, Posma said.
"Our country has pledged to comply with several
recommendations on global issues agreed in international forums
on population, including in the International Conference on
Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 and the Millennium
Development Summit in New York in 2000," Posma said.
The absence of a special institution and officials responsible
for population and family planning were another flaw in the
existing law.
The draft amendment will involve population experts, including
BKKBN deputy chairman Siswanto Agus Wilopo, Demographic
Foundation chairperson Srihariati Hatmadji, Indonesian Doctors
Association (IDI) medical legal committee chairman Herkutanto and
Center of Population Study and Policy vice president Sukamdi.
Posma said the team was expected to complete the draft law in
September.
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world.