Marinus Gea: Regional Regulation Harmonisation is Key to National Legal Reform
Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) from the PDI Perjuangan faction, Marinus Gea, has asserted that the quality of regional regulations should not be measured solely by the technical aspects of legal drafting. According to him, a legal product must have quality substance, provide benefit, guarantee legal certainty, and be capable of answering the real needs and problems faced by the community.
The statement was made by Marinus whilst leading a specific working visit of Commission XIII DPR RI to the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law in East Java Province in Surabaya on Wednesday (8/7). During the visit, Commission XIII DPR RI discussed strengthening the governance of regional regulation harmonisation to ensure alignment with the national legal system.
‘A good regulation is not only measured by its legal drafting, but also by the quality of its substance, its benefit, legal certainty, and its ability to answer the needs of the community,’ Marinus said in a statement on Thursday (9/7/2026).
The PDI Perjuangan politician assessed that strengthening regulatory harmonisation at the regional level is one of the main pillars in the national regulatory reform agenda. He explained that a comprehensive harmonisation process is a strategic instrument to ensure that every regional legal product does not conflict with or overlap higher laws and regulations.
Marinus explained that regionally harmonised regulations will create legal certainty whilst supporting the effectiveness of government policy implementation. Consequently, the resulting policies can be implemented optimally and their benefits felt directly by the community.
‘Commission XIII DPR RI views that strengthening regional regulatory harmonisation is part of the national regulatory reform. With this, the public will obtain legal certainty and increasingly better public services,’ said Marinus.
Furthermore, Marinus stated that through this specific working visit, Commission XIII DPR RI aimed to obtain a direct picture of the implementation of the legislative harmonisation function in East Java Province. He noted that the monitoring results and various inputs obtained in the field would serve as evaluation material in efforts to strengthen the system for forming laws and regulations in the regions.
During the visit, Commission XIII DPR RI paid attention to several important aspects, including the institutional capacity of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law, the adequacy and competence of Legislative Drafters, the effectiveness of coordination between the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and the regional government and Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD), and the utilisation of digital technology to accelerate the regulatory harmonisation process.
At the end of his explanation, Marinus emphasised that strengthening the role of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law is a strategic step in realising quality regional regulations. Regulations drafted harmoniously are believed to be capable of increasing the effectiveness of governance whilst delivering policies that are more responsive, well-targeted, and provide tangible benefits to the wider community.