Indonesian Parliament Slumber During COVID-19 Pandemic by Dr Linda Yanti Sulistiawati

APCEL Senior Research Fellow, Dr Linda Yanti Sulistiawati, was invited to a 2-day roundtable discussion on “COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND RULE OF LAW” organised by Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung-Ltd (KAS) and National Tsing Hua University (NTHU). The event was held online from 15 to 16 April 2021.

Dr Sulistiawati gave a presentation, “Indonesian Parliament Slumber During COVID-19 Pandemic” on Day 2 of the webinar.

ABSTRACT

What have Indonesian legislatures been doing about the Covid-19 pandemic, both at the national and local level? Why have we not read much about their active roles – at least compared to executive activities – after more one year of this pandemic? Is Parliament under a malady or are its efforts against the pandemic just totally ignorant?

This article explores these questions from legal formal and political points of view. The arguments are that there are three main reasons to the Indonesian government’s ineffectiveness in the face of this pandemic. Firstly, the formal and legal definitions of a pandemic bring it under the remit of the Contagious Disease Law (CDL), not the Emergency Law (EL). This detracts from the dominant roles of the Executive government. Secondly, political representation by Indonesian Members of Parliament (MP) is weak. Thirdly, the ruling party dominates politics in Parliament.

Indonesia, a country with a more than 270 million-strong population scattered throughout its 17,000 islands, battles the dreary pandemic, as do other countries in the world.  The Government of Indonesia (GoI) struggles to cope and manage the spread of the virus, particularly because it had chosen to use the CDL, instead of “locking down” the country in an ‘emergency situation’. Article 12 of the Indonesian Constitution states the President has the authority to declare a state of emergency, where the conditions and subsequent measures for a state of emergency are to be explained in legislation. However, the government chosen CDL instead, and this option conferred the Executive government’s ability to directly create and enact the bylaws and regulations needed to swiftly tackle the spread of Covid-19. Legislative approval from Parliament is only needed for the Executive branch to enact new Laws or if the was an emergency situation in the country. But does this then mean the Parliament gets to be free loader?