UNAIRNEWS –In the commemoration of Labor Day, the Ministry of Social and Political Affairs of Faculty of Law™s Student Executive Board (BEM FH) held a webinar on labor parties.The webinar, “The Growth and Death of the Labor Party in Indonesia”, was held on Monday afternoon , May 2, 2021. The Director of State Administration of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham) RI Dr.Baroto, S.H, M.H, was invited as the speaker.
Baroto’s explanation was not specific to the dynamics of labor politics in the country, but to the regulations and dynamics of political parties in a normative and legal way. He agreed that the existence of political parties is essential in the benefit of democracy; therefore the state must be present in providing regulations so that it can run well.
The government official explained some of the requirements for the establishment and registration of political parties which refer to Law no. 2 of 2011. If a political party wishes to participate in the general election (Pemilu), then a political party must have the status as a legal entity. Moreover, political parties must have 50 founding members and have management in each province and most of the regencies / cities and sub-districts in Indonesia.
“There must also be a guarantee of women’s representation as much as 30% in the political party, even though sometimes this cannot be fully implemented. Of course this is an issue that we (the government) need to pay attention to, “said Baroto.
According to data from the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights, 74 political parties have registered for legal status. However, Baroto said that only 22 political parties were active. The problem here is that the existence of political parties in Indonesia does not merely carry out the essence and function of the political parties themselves, such as regeneration, struggle for ideology and interests, representation of people’s aspirations, and instruments of democracy.
“The Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia has very little authority in being responsible for the performance of political parties in Indonesia. Our authority is limited to the verification and granting of legal entity status to political parties. The dissolution of political parties can only be carried out by the Constitutional Court with sufficiently complex requirements so as not to interfere with the essence of Indonesian democracy, “said the legal expert.
Baroto explained that a political environment that fulfills the essence and function of a political party has not yet been realized, because there are so many factors. Democracy is still new in Indonesia after the overthrow of the Soeharto regime, so it still needs a habituation process. The vision and mission are limited to contestation in elections; they have not yet reached the struggle for fundamental ideologies like democracy in the United States.
“On the administrative scale and internal dynamics there are also problems. An internal conflict which is full of political elements and the existence of a Political Party Court is also very difficult to guarantee its neutrality. AD / ART is still less rigid and detailed. A short explanation from me that can be concluded and can be used as a further discussion is, establishing a labor party in Indonesia must also understand these factors, “he concluded.
Author: Pradnya Wicaksana
Editor: Nuri Hermawan
