UNS Legal Expert: Public Must Be Involved in Regulation Formation

Legal expert from Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS), Ayub Torry Satrio Kusumo, has emphasised that public involvement is a key principle in the formation of laws and regulations. According to Ayub, the public must not merely be passive objects of a policy, especially when the regulation being drafted has a direct impact on the social or economic lives of specific groups. Therefore, the policy-making process needs to take into account the aspirations of the affected parties. “The government must pay attention to the social, economic, and cultural aspects of society. Regulation is indeed necessary, but it must not ignore the groups directly affected,” Ayub said. He reminded that Law Number 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection guarantees the public’s right to obtain correct, clear, and honest information about the products they consume. Consequently, the government needs to ensure that every policy implemented continues to respect consumers’ rights to recognise the products they use. The statement was made by Ayub during a discussion regarding the drafting of a Minister of Health Regulation (RPMK) on Health Warnings and Information on Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes. In this regulation, the Ministry of Health plans to implement plain packaging on tobacco products. In line with Ayub, a survey conducted by Pakta Konsumen involving 1,760 respondents stated that 91 percent of tobacco consumers admitted they were not involved in the regulation drafting process. Pakta Konsumen Chairman Ary Fatanen said the survey results indicate that there is still an aspiration from consumers to be involved in the discussion of policies that directly impact them. According to him, public involvement can be part of a more participatory regulation drafting process. Ary said the government needs to consider the broader impact before implementing the plain packaging policy. He expressed concern that plain packaging would make it increasingly difficult for consumers to distinguish between legal and illegal products. Instead of reducing the number of smokers, an increase in the consumption of illegal products would be considered more dangerous. “Consumers cannot differentiate whether the product they are buying is legal or illegal, so they just choose the cheapest one. This is potentially dangerous for consumers because the product composition is unclear,” he stressed.