JAKARTA: An Indonesian court ruled on Wednesday (Sep 17) that parliament had followed proper process in passing contentious revisions to the country’s military law, rejecting legal challenges to legislation that had sparked protests and condemnation.
The Constitutional Court judges ruled 5-4 in favour of rejecting a petition that said the amendments were bulldozed through parliament in March without proper public consultation, amid wider concerns of an expansion of the military’s involvement in civilian affairs under President Prabowo Subianto.
Fears have been growing in Indonesia that former special forces commander Prabowo is turning increasingly to the armed forces to help deliver his ambitious agenda after just 11 months in office, reviving memories of the military-dominated 1966-1998 New Order era of authoritarian rule.
“We cannot conclude that there was no transparency because the draft of the bill had been disclosed to the public through websites, YouTube channels, and lawmakers had also given interviews,” Justice Guntur Hamzah said in the decision.
The ruling comes at a time of festering anger following two weeks of at times violent demonstrations over issues from lawmakers’ allowances and state budget priorities to police conduct and perceptions of creeping militarisation in Indonesia, presenting Prabowo with his first major test.
Prabowo has appointed former generals to key posts and has deployed the military for various tasks, including handling street protests, implementing initiatives on free school meals and food security, manufacturing medicines and seizing palm oil plantations for a new state-owned firm.
On Wednesday Prabowo named retired general Djamari Chaniago, 77, as his new chief security minister.
The dissenting opinion of four judges was not read out in the verdict, which was delivered virtually with neither plaintiffs nor the public permitted to attend.
