UNS Legal Expert: Public Must Be Involved in Regulation Formation

Ayub Torry Satrio Kusumo, a legal expert from Sebelas Maret University (UNS), has asserted that public involvement is a vital principle in the formation of laws and regulations.

According to Ayub, the public should not merely be passive objects of a policy, especially when the formulated regulations have a direct impact on the social or economic lives of specific groups. Therefore, the policy-making process must take into consideration the aspirations of the affected parties.

“The government must consider the social, economic, and cultural aspects of society. Regulations are indeed necessary, but they must not ignore the groups directly impacted,” said Ayub.

He reminded that Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection guarantees the right of the public to obtain true, clear, and honest information regarding the products they consume. Consequently, the government is deemed to need to ensure that every implemented policy continues to respect the rights of consumers to identify the products they use.

These statements were made by Ayub while discussing the drafting of the Ministerial Regulation of Health (RPMK) regarding Health Warnings and Information on Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes. Under this regulation, the Ministry of Health plans to implement plain packaging for tobacco products.

In alignment with Ayub, a survey conducted by Pakta Konsumen involving 1,760 respondents revealed that 91 per cent of tobacco consumers claimed they were not involved in the regulatory drafting process.

The Chairperson of Pakta Konsumen, Ary Fatanen, stated that the survey results indicate there are still aspirations from consumers to be involved in the discussion of policies that directly affect them. According to him, public involvement can serve as part of a more participatory regulatory drafting process.

Ary suggested that the government needs to consider the broader impact before implementing plain packaging policies. He expressed concern that plain packaging could make it increasingly difficult for consumers to distinguish between legal and illegal products. Rather than reducing smoking rates, an increase in the consumption of illegal products is deemed to be more dangerous.

“Consumers cannot differentiate between products purchased legally or illegally, leading them to simply choose the cheapest option. This has the potential to be dangerous for consumers because the product composition remains unclear,” he concluded.