By: Rivaldi Adrian )*
The state ensures that the community can provide their aspirations in the RKUHP. Apart from being able to read the articles officially on the government website, they can also make various suggestions regarding the RKUHP. Aspirations can also be conveyed directly, when there is socialization of the RKUHP.
The RKUHP is the bill that the public discusses the most, because it contains many new articles. These include articles on living law , aka customary law, articles on adultery, prohibitions on disturbing neighbors and making noise, etc. The RKUHP will soon be ratified and the public is waiting for it to be made soon, in order to replace the old version of the KHUP which is too old and out of date.
Head of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of East Nusa Tenggara, Marciana Dominika Jone, stated that his party held a socialization of the RKUHP. This event is held in person and virtually. The goal is to capture public aspirations regarding the RKUHP.
The socialization was attended by representatives from law enforcement, students, village and sub-district employees, as well as representatives of institutions in NTT. Socialization is done in a hybrid way to reach more people. It is hoped that they will understand what the urgency is in formalizing the RKUHP as a replacement for the old Criminal Code. The RKUHP has been drafted for 50 years and now is the time to ratify it.
In the socialization of the RKUHP, participants can provide aspirations and suggestions regarding the articles in this bill. For example, they asked for articles to be added to, edited, or even deleted. Thus, the government can find out the aspirations of the people regarding the RKUHP and their responses, in a positive or negative context.
Then, the socialization of the RKUHP was also filled with questions from the participants. For example regarding the articles in this bill that are considered controversial. They can ask what the purpose of the article is, for example the article on adultery. This article can make the perpetrators of unregistered marriages afraid, even though the aim is for them to formalize a legal marriage relationship in the state. Misunderstandings like this can be corrected.
Community aspirations continue to be captured in the socialization of the RKUHP. The government is intensifying this socialization in various regions, organized by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and other state institutions. With a lot of socialization, more proposals and aspirations from the community will be obtained, and they will be taken into consideration before this bill is actually ratified.
Meanwhile, the public can also read the articles in the RKUHP on the government’s official website. The inclusion of the draft RKUHP is also arranged so that they know which article is the original. The reason is because there could be an artificial article made by a fake website, the purpose of which is to thwart the ratification of the RKUHP.
The public can also express their aspirations regarding the RKUHP on the government website. They can also provide suggestions, aspirations, and criticism. This was revealed by the Presidential Special Staff for Early Law, Purwono.
In a sense, the public is given the opportunity to express their aspirations, not only during socialization (offline), but also on government websites (online). The community is happy because when they have not had the opportunity to meet with government officials during socialization, they can submit their proposals on the RKUHP via the government website.
Giving permission for online aspirations is very easy for the community because they just need to open their device and then access the official government website. After reading the articles in the RKUHP, they are increasingly convinced that the bill is very good. Then wait for the right time for approval.
Then, the public is also allowed to give aspirations, for example regarding the living law article . They can propose that this article be continued, because it will strengthen the position of indigenous peoples in Indonesia. Customary law is very good for preserving Indonesian culture. If there is an article that supports customary law, it is very good because it does not conflict with state law.
The public can give suggestions and criticism, and this makes many people appreciate the government. The reason is, criticism is always considered a negative thing. In fact, criticism is also needed to see a different side, let alone constructive criticism.
With permission to give criticism, the government enforces democracy in Indonesia, because a bill is clearly displayed, proposals can be given, as well as criticism. Enforcement of democracy occurs because people are allowed to make laws that regulate their own lives. Although in practice, this is represented by members of the DPR RI as people’s representatives.
Democracy is really enforced and this dispels the notion that the current government tends to be authoritarian. If it is authoritarian then there is no discussion or socialization of the RKUHP. There is no room for acceptance of aspirations, proposals, and criticisms from the community. However, the bill was immediately promulgated. The government does not want to take this method because it is tantamount to betraying democracy.
The state ensures that the public can express their aspirations in the RKUHP. They can give suggestions, even criticism, either directly (during socialization) or online (via the government’s official website). The RKUHP is a very important bill because it regulates criminal law in Indonesia, and the government upholds democracy because it allows people to express their aspirations.
)* The author is a contributor to the Nusantara Reading Room