By: Safira Tri Ningsih )*
The plan of labor elements to hold a demonstration on June 5 2023 to reject the Job Creation Law needs to be cancelled. Reflecting on the previous rallies, the demonstrations actually harmed many people because they ended in anarchy.
The Job Creation Law was passed by the government to save the Indonesian economy because this Law is pro-investor and makes the world of business and investment in this country even more lively. However, students and workers misunderstood and opposed the Job Creation Law. Even though this law is not detrimental because workers still have rights in the form of salary and leave, and other regulations are made for the prosperity of the Indonesian people.
Previously, workers and students held demonstrations against the Job Creation Law, in Jakarta, Surabaya and Makassar. Unfortunately, this demonstration did not get any sympathy from the public, because it was seen as disturbing the order. Demonstrations can also cause traffic jams so that time is wasted on the road.
After the Job Creation Law demonstration held in Surabaya, it was noted that there were a lot of losses. After an anarchist demonstration, a police patrol car was damaged by the fury of the crowd. Then, the road divider on Jalan Tunjungan was also damaged because it was set on fire by an angry mob of workers. Decorations on pedestrian streets in Surabaya were also badly damaged due to the actions of the demonstrators.
There was also a lot of other damage after the demonstration, including a police post in the Tunjungan area, Surabaya, which was destroyed by a mob of workers. The park at Surabaya Square was also badly damaged, even though the place had just been inaugurated in August 2022. The road guardrail was also torn down by the protesters.
Therefore, the community does not agree with the demonstrations carried out by workers and students. The damage caused by the protests was enormous. Indeed, the total loss has not been calculated, and the demonstrators do not want to be responsible at all for compensation. They should also take responsibility, at least helping to install new fences and road dividers.
If this is the case, it will be the loss for the Surabaya City Government because they have to pay builders to install fences and road dividers, tidy up pedestrians, rebuild police posts, etc. Anarchist demonstrations are very detrimental and if they are carried out continuously they will suck up the regional budget. This money should have been used for the welfare of the people, but instead it was made to cover the damage caused by the emotional and irresponsible demonstrators.
The Governor of the Special Region of Jogjakarta Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X stated that there were parties who deliberately acted anarchistically behind the demonstration against the Job Creation Law which caused chaos. The Sultan has asked law enforcement officials to act decisively, because it is considered that there were intentional elements in the chaos that led to the destruction of a number of assets.
Sri Sultan added, he would ask the authorities to commit a crime against the perpetrators, because there was an intention to commit anarchy. In a sense, the demonstrators did damage on purpose. They deserve strict action against them for causing harm to the state and destroying public facilities.
Meanwhile, anarchist demonstrations also took place in Makassar. A student was hit by an arrow and pierced his lungs. The student with the initials MF is only 22 years old. He was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital and received first aid.
It is still being investigated who had the heart to throw arrows at the demonstrators. The community condemned the violence that occurred during the demonstration. However, they also warned students not to demonstrate indiscriminately, because the risk is very high and dangerous for their own lives.
Instead of demonstrating while jostling and sweating, even to the point where their lives are threatened, wouldn’t it be better to send several student representatives to have an audience with the authorities? With peaceful communication, it can be explained what are the reasons for the approval of the Job Creation Law
Workers should be able to hold hearings with the government or entrust their aspirations to people’s representatives. This is done to prevent misunderstandings that lead to large-scale demonstrations.
Massive anarchist demonstrations will only harm many people because they are stuck in traffic. Then, the city government also suffered losses because public facilities were damaged by the emotional and anarchist protesters. If a demonstrator is caught, he cannot be defended because he has committed a crime.
The community opposed the Job Creation Law demonstration because it grew anarchic and damaged public facilities, and caused huge losses. Apart from that, the demonstration also harmed themselves because there were students who were hit by arrows during the demonstration. There shouldn’t be any more anarchic demonstrations that harm a lot of people.
)* The author is a contributor to the Daris Pustaka Contributor
