The government continues to accelerate the revision of the Job Creation Law in accordance with the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK). These improvements are expected to increase investment opportunities and provide maximum protection to the workforce.
The Job Creation Law was formally tested on November 25, 2021, through decision Number 91/PUU-XVIII/2020. The ruling stated that the establishment of the Job Creation Law was unconstitutional because it was contrary to the 1945 Constitution. For this reason, the government began to speed up the revision of the Job Creation Law.
Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the government would accelerate the process of completing the job creation law. Bahlil explained that one of the highlights in the Constitutional Court’s decision was related to upstream issues or the formal aspects of making the Job Creation Act. Therefore, the government can accelerate the revision by completing some special concerns in order to maintain legal certainty for investment activities.
Bahlil added that the government is open to dialogue and accepts input and criticism regarding investment in the context of the Job Creation Law. Many business actors have already established communication with the Ministry of Investment after the Constitutional Court’s decision was issued.
On a different occasion, the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam) Mahfud MD guaranteed that investment in Indonesia had legal certainty. Although the Constitutional Court ruled that the Job Creation Act was conditional.
Mahfud said that the government guarantees that investments that have been invested in Indonesia will remain safe and have legal certainty. Investments made legally cannot be undone. The agreement that has been legally made is valid as a law, therefore it cannot be simply revoked because it is binding.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that it is believed that the improvement of the Job Creation Law after the Constitutional Court’s decision will not have an impact on entrepreneur optimism. This is because business actors or investors from various countries are waiting for the structural reforms presented through the law.
Airlangga explained that the steps that the government will take to improve the Ciptaker Law are to revise Law No. 12 of 2011 to regulate the omnibus method as a standard legal basis in the formation of laws and regulations, including incorporating the technique of drafting laws and regulations using the omnibus method.
The government will also increase public participation to fulfill people’s rights in the form of the right to have their opinions heard, the right to have their opinions considered and the right to get an explanation or answer to the opinions given.
The DPR and the government will review a number of substances that have been objected to by many community groups. As a follow-up, the DPR and the government have agreed to include a revision of the law related to the formation of legislation and the revision of the Job Creation Law in the priority national legislation program in 2022 and this is an administrative requirement of the legislation.
According to Airlangga, this step will be taken by the government to avoid the emergence of uncertainty in the future due to a number of rejections of the Job Creation Law.
During the revision process of the Job Creation Law, Airlangga asked business actors not to worry. The reason is that the government will provide certainty of investment activities under the legal umbrella of Law Number 25 of 2007 concerning Investment.
Airlangga is also optimistic that the revision of the Job Creation Law will be completed sooner than the deadline determined by the Constitutional Court. So that structural reforms through the Job Creation Law can run smoothly. According to him, the optimism of the business world is still maintained because it is influenced by business conditions which are currently relatively improving and the Covid-19 pandemic is under control.
The public and the business world support the government so that it can complete the revision of the Copyright Law on time. With the revision of the Ciptaker Law, investors are expected to have legal certainty to develop their businesses in Indonesia, so that new job creation opportunities can be even greater.
Aulia Hawa, the author is a contributor to the Press Circle and a student at Cikini
