The Ratification of Omnibus Law: A Sign of Democratic Deconsolidation in Indonesia

Authors

  • Muchamad Zaenal Arifin Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Universität Passau, Passau https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7991-5788
  • Wahyu Budi Nugroho Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Udayana, Badung
  • Ana María Naranjo Cortés Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Universität Passau, Passau https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1838-8763
  • Pricilia Purnama Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21580/jsw.2022.6.1.9666

Keywords:

democratic deconsolidation, Omnibus Law, horizontal accountability, discursive participation, democratic civil-military relations

Abstract

Indonesia as a post-authoritarian democratic country has made impressive progress in its democratic transition. However, there is a significant contradiction in the democratic process, particularly in policy and law-making. This study aims to discuss democratic deconsolidation contributing to the ratification of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation in Indonesia. Applying the qualitative method by using academic literature, news analysis, and official government documents, the first research finding shows that the accumulation of Joko Widodo's political power has affected the quality of debate and the agreement during the deliberation of the Omnibus Law in the parliament. Secondly, the opaque process limiting public participation has narrowed the space for the democratic mobilization of the citizens. Thirdly, the increasing number of retired armed forces in domestic affairs has resulted in the dual function of military power in securing the country and the economic development agenda. The study shows that the deconsolidation of democracy has contributed to the ratification of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation which was deliberated through a non-transparent mechanism.

Author Biography

Wahyu Budi Nugroho, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Udayana, Badung

Sociology Department

References

Amatullah, Naila, Niki A. Setyadani, and Syarafina Ramadhaty. 2020. “The Extension of the Special Business Mining License (IUPK) under The Law No. 3 of 2020 of the Coal and Mineral Mining: Pro or Cons?” Legal Brief Journal 10(1):39/48.

Aminuddin, M. Faishal. 2017. “The Purnawirawan and Party Development in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia, 1998–2014.” Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 36(2):3–30. doi: 10.1177/186810341703600201.

Amnesty International. 2020. “Indonesia: Commentary on the Labour Cluster of the Omnibus Bill on Job Creation (RUU Cipta Kerja).” Retrieved (https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa21/2879/2020/en/).

Anggraeni, Ricca, and Cipta Indra Lestari Rachman. 2020. “Omnibus Law in Indonesia: Is That the Right Strategy?” Pp. 180–82 in Proceedings of the International Conference on Law, Economics and Health (ICLEH 2020). Vol. 140. Paris, France: Atlantis Press.

Anugrah, Iqra. 2020. “The Illiberal Turn in Indonesian Democracy.” Asia-Pacific Journal 18(18):1–17.

Arbi, Ivany Atina. 2020. “Jokowi Dismisses Criticism of Omnibus Jobs Law as Hoax.” The Jakarta Post. Retrieved (https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/10/09/jokowi-dismisses-criticism-of-omnibus-jobs-law-as-hoax-news.html).

Asrinaldi, Mohammad Agus Yusoff, and dan Zamzami Abdul Karim. 2021. “Oligarchy in the Jokowi Government and Its Influence on the Implementation of Legislative Function in Indonesia.” Asian Journal of Comparative Politics 10(10). doi: 10.1177/2057891121995564.

Bar-Siman-Tov, Ittai. 2021. “An Introduction to the Comparative and Multidisciplinary Study of Omnibus Legislation” edited by I. Bar-Siman-Tov. SSRN Electronic Journal 1/30. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3770028.

Brunkhorst, Hauke, Regina Kreide, and Cristna Lafont. 2018. The Habermas Handbook New Directions in Critical Theory. New York: Columbia University Press.

Butt, Simon. 2020. “The 2020 Constitutional Court Law Amendments: A ‘Gift’ to Judges?” Indonesia at Melbourne. Retrieved (https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/the-2020-constitutional-court-law-amendments-a-gift-to-judges/).

Case, William. 2011. Executive Accountability in Southeast Asia: The Role of Legislatures in New Democracies and under Electoral Authoritarianism. Honolulu: East West Center.

Chambers, Simone. 2003. “Deliberative Democratic Theory.” Annual Review of Political Science 6(1):307–26. doi: 10.1146/annurev.polisci.6.121901.085538.

Cottey, Andrew. 2007. “Civil-Military Relations and Democracy in the New Europe.” Pp. 281–95 in OSCE Yearbook 2007, Baden-Baden 2008.

Diamond, Larry. 2014. “What Is Democracy?” Retrieved (https://diamond-democracy.stanford.edu/speaking/lectures/what-democracy).

EIU. 2018. Democracy Index 2018: Me Too? Political Participation, Protest and Democracy. London.

EIU. 2019. Democracy Index 2019: A Year of Democratic Setbacks and Popular Protest. London.

Eve, Waburton, and Edward Aspinall. 2019. “Explaining Indonesia’s Democratic Regression: Structure, Agency and Popular Opinion.” A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs 41(2):255–85.

Facchini, François, and Mickael Melki. 2021. “Egalitarianism and the Democratic Deconsolidation: Is Democracy Compatible with Socialism?” Public Choice 186(3–4):447–65. doi: 10.1007/s11127-019-00744-x.

Fachriansyah, Rizki. 2020. “Police Telegram Urges Control over Protests against Controversial Jobs Bill.” The Jakarta Post. Retrieved (https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/10/05/police-telegram-urges-control-over-protests-against-controversial-jobs-bill.html).

Foa, Roberto Stefan, and Mounk Yascha. 2017. “The Signs of Deconsolidation.” Journal of Democracy 28(1):5–16.

Freedom House. 2018. Indonesia: Freedom in the World 2018 Country Report. Washington DC.

Freedom House. 2019. Indonesia: Freedom in the World 2019 Country Report. Washington DC.

Ghaliya, Ghina. 2020. “House Passes Constitutional Court Law Revision amid Public Outcry.” The Jakarta Post. Retrieved (https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/09/01/house-passes-constitutional-court-law-revision-amid-public-outcry.html).

Gorbiano, Marchio Irfan. 2020. “Jokowi Orders Intelligence, Police to Approach ‘Organizations’ about Omnibus Bill.” The Jakarta Post. Retrieved (https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/01/16/jokowi-orders-intelligence-police-to-approach-organizations-about-omnibus-bill.html).

Gunawan, Aditya Batara. 2017. “Civilian Control and Defense Policy in Indonesia’s Nascent Democracy.” Pp. 129–50 in Reforming Civil-Military Relations in New Demo¬cracies: Democratic Control and Military Effectiveness in Comparative Perspectives, edited by A. Croissant and D. Kuehn. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

Habermas, Jürgen. 1996. Between Facts and Norms. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Hamid, Usman, and Ary Hermawan. 2020. “Indonesia’s Omnibus Law Is a Bust for Human Rights.” New Mandala. Retrieved (https://www.newmandala.org/indonesias-omnibus-law-is-a-bust-for-human-rights/).

Hazama, Yasushi, and Şeref Iba. 2017. “Legislative Agenda Setting by a Delegative Democracy: Omnibus Bills in the Turkish Parliamentary System.” Turkish Studies 18(2):313–33. doi: 10.1080/14683849.2016.1261022.

Honna, Jun. 2019. “Civil-Military Relations in an Emerging State: A Perspective from Indonesia’s Democratic Consolidation.” Pp. 255–70 in Emerging States at Crossroads, edited by K. Tsunekawa and Y. Todo. Singapore: Springer Open.

Huntington, Samuel P. 1957. The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Irawati, Arista Candra. 2020. “Pros and Cons of the Corruption Eradication Commission in the Perspective of Law Politics.” Pp. 39–48 in Proceedings of the International Conference on Law, Economics and Health (ICLEH 2020). Vol. 140. Paris, France: Atlantis Press.

Jennings, Ralph. 2020. “Indonesia’s Pandemic Response: A Law to Create Millions of Jobs.” VOA News. Retrieved (https://www.voanews.com/a/economy-business_indonesias-pandemic-response-law-create-millions-jobs/6197677.html).

Kawamura, Koichi. 2010. “Is the Indonesian President Strong or Weak?” IDE-JETRO Discussion Paper 235:1–51.

Kohn, Richard H. 1997. “How Democracies Control the Military.” Journal of Democracy 8(4):140–53.

Kümmel, Gerhard, and Wilfried Bredow. 2000. Civil Military Relations in an Age of Turbulence: Armed Forces and the Problem of Democratic Control. Strausberg: Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut der Bundeswehr.

Kurlantzick, Joshua. 2020. “A Controversial Omnibus Law Could Spell Trouble for Indonesia’s Democracy.” World Politics Review. Retrieved (https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29281/a-controversial-omnibus-law-could-spell-trouble-for-indonesian-democracy).

Law, David. 2008. Democratic Control of Armed Forces. Geneva.

Lontoh, Lucky. 2019. “The Indonesia Election Result and Joko Widodo’s New Cabinet: What It Means to Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform.” IISD. Retrieved (https://www.iisd.org/publications/indonesia-election-result).

Maigre, Merle. 2010. “Theories of Civil-Military Relations.” Retrieved (https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep13816.8.pdf).

Massicotte, Louis. 2021. “Canada: If Controversial, Omnibus Legislation Is Here to Stay.” P. 257/281 in Comparative Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Omnibus Legislation, Legisprudence Library, edited by I. Bar-Siman-Tov. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Merkel, Wolfgang. 2004. “Embedded and Defective Democracies.” Democratization 11(5):33–58. doi: 10.1080/13510340412331304598.

Merkel, Wolfgang. 2014. “Is There a Crisis of Democracy?” Democratic Theory 1(2):11-25. doi: 10.3167/dt.2014.010202.

Merkel, Wolfgang. 2018. “Challenge or Crisis of Democracy.” Pp. 1–28 in Democracy and Crisis, edited by Wolfang Merkel and S. Kneip. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Mietzner, Marcus. 2021. “Sources of Resistance to Democratic Decline: Indonesian Civil Society and Its Trials.” Democratization 28(1):161–78. doi: 10.1080/13510347.2020.1796649.

Oliver-Lalana, A. Daniel. 2021. “Omnibus Legislation in Spain: Between Political Expediency, Doctrinal Condemnation, and Judicial Indulgence.” Pp. 227–55 in Comparative Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Omnibus Legislation, Legisprudence Library, edited by I. Bar-Siman-Tov. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Panimbang, Fahmi. 2020. “Indonesia’s Return to an Authoritarian Developmental State.” International Politics and Society. Retrieved (https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy/indonesias-return-to-an-authoritarian-developmental-state-4734/).

Power, Thomas P. 2018. “Jokowi’s Authoritarian Turn and Indonesia’s Democratic Decline.” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 54(3):307–38. doi: 10.1080/00074918.2018.1549918.

Sambhi, Natalie. 2021. “Generals Gaining Ground: Civil-Military Relations and Democracy in Indonesia.” Brookings. Retrieved (https://www.brookings.edu/articles/generals-gaining-ground-civil-military-relations-and-democracy-in-indonesia/).

Schlueter, Markus. 2020. “Latest News on Law, Tax, and Business in ASEAN.” Quarterly ASEAN Newsflash.

Sebastian, Leonard C., Emirza Adi Syailendra, and Keoni Indrabazu Maryuki. 2018. “Civil-Military Relations in Indonesia after the Reform Period.” Asia Policy 13(3):49–78.

Sefsani, Ririn. 2019. “Indonesian Democracy Needs Diverse Opposition.” The Jakarta Post. Retrieved (https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/10/18/indonesian-democracy-needs-diverse-opposition.html).

Sembiring, Raynaldo, Isna Fatimah, and Grita A. Widyaningsih. 2020. “Indonesia’s Omnibus Bill on Job Creation: A Setback for Environmental Law.” Chinese Journal of Environmental Law 4(1):97–109.

Susen, Simon. 2018. “Jürgen Habermas: Between Democratic Deliberation and Deliberative Democracy.” Pp. 43–66 in The Routledge Handbook of Language and Politics, edited by R. Wodak and Forchtner. Abingdon: Routledge.

Terjomurti, Kukuh, and Sukarmi. 2020. “The Critical Study of the Omnibus Bill on Job Creation Based on John Rawls View on Justice.” Unnes Law Journal: Jurnal Hukum Universitas Negeri Semarang 6(2):187–204. doi: 10.15294/ulj.v6i2.41709.

The Economist reporter. 2019. “Why Indonesia’s President Has Made His Arch-Rival a Minister: Better to Have Carping in the Cabinet than on the Streets.” The Economist. Retrieved (https://www.economist.com/asia/2019/10/24/why-indonesias-president-has-made-his-arch-rival-a-minister).

US Department of State. 2019. “2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Indonesia.” Retrieved (https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/indonesia/).

Web Admininistrator DPR RI. 2020. “Paripurna DPR Sahkan RUU Cipta Kerja Menjadi UU.” Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia. Retrieved (https://www.dpr.go.id/berita/detail/id/30332/t/Paripurna+DPR+Sahkan+RUU+Cipta+Kerja+menjadi+UU).

Wijaya, Callistasia. 2020. “Indonesia: Thousands Protest against ‘omnibus Law’ on Jobs.” BBC News. Retrieved (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54460090).

Winata, Muhammad Reza, Erlina M. C. Sinaga, Sharfina Sabila, and Rizkisyabana Yulistyaputri. 2020. “Criminal Legal Policy and Unconstitutionality on Contempt of Ruler or Public Body.” Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan 9(1):71–98. doi: 10.25216/jhp.9.1.2020.71-98.

Ziegenhain, Patrick. 2015. Institutional Engineering and Political Accountability in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing.

Downloads

Published

2022-04-30

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2022)

Section

Articles

License

The copyright of the received article shall be assigned to the journal as the publisher of the journal. The intended copyright includes the right to publish the article in various forms (including reprints). The journal maintains the publishing rights to the published articles. Therefore, the author must submit a statement of the Copyright Transfer Agreement.*)

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.  

In line with the license, authors and any users (readers and other researchers) are allowed to share and adapt the material. In addition, the material must be given appropriate credit, provided with a link to the license, and indicated if changes were made. If authors remix, transform or build upon the material, authors must distribute their contributions under the same license as the original.

________

*) Authors whose articles are accepted for publication will receive confirmation via email and send a Copyright Transfer Agreement.