written by Kasumah
The Job Creation Law was passed by the Omnibus Law on October 5, 2020 for “people’s welfare”. The people have been held captive by the opportunity to encourage foreign investors to set up companies in Indonesia. The ratification of the Job Creation Law itself aims to increase the level of the global economy for Indonesia’s development.
Om-ni-bus, taken from the Latin ‘omnis’ which means ‘all’. The Omnibus law is a law that can regulate (amend, cut / change) various points in various previously regulated sectors. This law can become a “sweeping” weapon against the regulations that have been made. This also means that it can become a threat to regulations on protecting the environment, again for the sake of advancing the nation’s economy.
Changes to the Environmental Permit will weaken the position of the AMDAL document (Analysis of Environmental Impact), the protection of biodiversity in the forest will be threatened, even the lives of indigenous peoples will be displaced for development. Changes to the relevant important articles will increase the risk of damage due to business activities.
Later, the Job Creation Law will bring in investors to set up companies so that people can work as casual daily laborers for foreign investors. This is exactly what Tania Murrai Li has expressed in her book The Lands End, poverty occurs when people do not have access to their customary land and are forced to work as day laborers to capital owners. With the lure of getting a job as a laborer, in fact a lot of labor is taken from outside and they have the competence to work for companies to be paid handsomely. Meanwhile, local workers are paid less.
Capitalism is created from the lack of community access to their own regional economic resources, people’s livelihoods are replaced by corporate economic practices which in turn lead people to work with companies. The acquisition of this job also brings the community to dependence on the wages of the company. People are poor again, they cannot stand alone. In order to fulfill the needs of daily life, working as a farmer does not guarantee family life.
There are various pros and cons to the ratification of the Job Creation Law, from activists to celebrities. Those who are pros say that the passing of the Omnibus Law is to make Indonesia an attractive place for foreign investors to build factories so that the economy can grow bigger so that the country is not trapped in an economy that is said to be a middle income trap. In other words, this goal is to increase investment.
Refusing investment does not mean rejecting development for the advancement of the nation. It’s just that it is necessary to pay attention to the amount of damage that will occur accompanied by rejection from various parties. Several regions even held a national demonstration against the Student Creation Law to the KSPI (Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions).
West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil sent a letter to President Joko Widodo to convey the aspirations of the labor union to reject the Job Creation Law. We cannot draw conclusions on the pros and cons of this, whether it will have an impact on the cancellation of the Job Creation Law or will it continue. Each of us is always faced with choices for things that are better for their group but whatever it is, decisions are not only for the benefit of a group of humans, it is also necessary to pay attention to the impact on the ecosystem in nature which is currently not in a good state.
Furthermore, quoting the conclusion from Alianda Wafisa (Banda Aceh Program Manager) at an online seminar entitled “The Job Creation Law Is Enacted, What Can We Do?” held by Aceh Documentary and Perempuan Peduli Leuser (8 October 2020), “We must believe that we have the strength, no matter what kind of education we have. It doesn’t have to be all the same. Let’s work together on the things that we agree on together!
Then, what can we do? I will answer this question with a closing sentence from Farwiza Farhan, Chair Person of HAKA who is also a resource person for the online seminar that I mentioned above. “Be sovereign in terms of food, return to the fields, to the land of your parents, planting is up to you where you want to plant. There are many things we can do for real. Find your passion and do it! ”
Then, what can we do? I will answer this question with a closing sentence from Farwiza Farhan, Chair Person of HAKA who is also a resource person for the online seminar that I mentioned above. “Be sovereign in terms of food, return to the fields, to the land of your parents, planting is up to you where you want to plant. There are many things we can do for real. Find your passion and do it! ”