The last week has been full of stories about the mounting number of criminal complaints against Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Habib Rizieq, not the least of which is the accusation that he insulted the state ideology of Pancasila and founding father Sukarno. Now the government ministers has announced that they will be making major revisions to Law No. 17 of 2013 on Civil Society Organisations (UU Ormas) that would ban or punish organizations that went against Pancasila.
UU Ormas governs and regulates all civil society organizations, including FPI. The law already allows the government to disband or block the creation of organizations that are judged to be contrary to the state ideology of Pancasila, such as those that promote communism or Leninism.
But Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly argued that it’s not just Marxist organizations that run counter to Pancasila. Without referring to any specific organization, Yasonna said that the government would revise UU Ormas to expand the definition of anti-Pancasila organizations to include groups that use violent tactics and are destructive to the state.
“Absolute freedom is not freedom, it’s anarchy. Freedom must be accompanied by responsibility, an obligation to maintain the rules,” Yasonna said at the Parliament Complex yesterday as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
Yasonna also said that the government proposed new penalties for organizations that commit acts of violence and vandalism, as opposed to individuals. He said organizations that violate the law should also be subject to arrest and prosecution, as the current system often allowed for individual lawbreakers to avoid criminal penalties, leading to a culture of lawlessness.
Interior Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said the government has already prepared for a revision of the bill and is waiting to discuss it with the House of Representatives.
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