DKJ Bill Ratified, Capital City Relocation Await Presidential Decree

DPR Chair Puan Maharani asked for approval from all session participants so that the DKJ Bill could be approved and ratified.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Skyscrapers crowd along Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Jakarta, Thursday (14/3/2024).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Plenary Meeting DPR finally approved the Draft Regional Law Specifically for Jakarta, it becomes the Special Region of Jakarta Law. Even though the DKJ Law has been passed, moving the capital city can only be carried out after government regulations and presidential regulations and presidential decrees have been issued.

Meanwhile, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction was the only faction that rejected the RUU DKJ being passed, because it was deemed not to involve meaningful public participation.

During the 14th Full Session of the DPR in the 4th Session of the 2023-2024 Legislature, DPR Chairperson Puan Maharani requested approval from all session participants for the DKJ bill to be approved and enacted as law.

"It is time for us to ask for the factions' approval of the draft law on Jakarta Special Region to be approved and enacted as a law, can it be approved? Agree?" said Puan.

Also read: Form an Agglomeration City, Invite Local Governments Throughout Jabodetabekjur to Talk

Then, Puan struck the gavel of the session which marked the approval of the bill into law. Out of the nine factions in the parliament, only the PKS faction opposed the bill on DKJ being passed into law.

KOMPAS/HIDAYAT SALAM

Atmosphere of the 14th DPR Plenary Session for Session Period IV 2023-2024 Session Year at the Parliament Building, Jakarta, Thursday (28/3/2024).

Separately, Vice Chairman of the Legislative Body (Baleg) of the Parliament, Achmad Baidowi, explained that the current capital is still Jakarta, despite the enactment of the DKJ Law. This is because the relocation of the capital can only be carried out after the president signs a presidential decree.

According to Article 39 of the State Capital Law, Jakarta remains the capital city until the issuance of a presidential decree on the transfer of the State Capital to Nusantara. However, Baidowi does not know the details of when the plan to move the capital city will take place. Currently, development is still ongoing in the State Capital of Nusantara (IKN). "The relocation of the capital city is waiting for the president's decision, even though the DKJ Law is already effective today," said Baidowi.

Relocation transition period

When reading the President's final opinion on the DKJ bill, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian stated that the government and DPR have the same vision. After no longer being the country's capital, Jakarta must maintain its special status so that it can accelerate economic growth and increase its contribution to Indonesia's gross domestic product.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian arrived to attend a working meeting regarding the revision of the State Capital Law with Commission II of the DPR in the Meeting Room of Commission II of the DPR, Jakarta, on Monday (21/8/2023).

"The manifestation of a shared commitment to make Jakarta a world-class city while maintaining a large economic turnover that can stimulate economic activity not only in Jakarta or Indonesia, but even become an important economic center in Southeast Asia and the world," said Tito.

Regarding the transition period, it is a time of transition that will be determined by the president through regulations that are under the authority of the president, either through presidential regulations or decrees.

Therefore, Jakarta's development cannot be separated from its surrounding areas, thus requiring synchronization of planning and development. An agglomeration area and Agglomeration Council are needed to jointly address issues in Jakarta and its surrounding areas, such as flooding, transportation, pollution, and waste management.

Tito emphasized that the Aglomeration Council's duty is only to carry out harmonization, synchronization of planning, and evaluation, not to take over the government's authority in the region.

Lastly, Tito conveyed the issue of transition, that the government, DPR, and DPD have agreed to establish transitional norms for the relocation so that Jakarta can plan for gradual adjustment in line with the ongoing development at IKN.

"About the transition period, it is a time of transfer that will be determined by the president through regulation products under the president's authority, both presidential decrees and executive orders," said Tito.

The approved DKJ Law consists of 12 chapters and 73 articles. One of the included substance is the process of selecting the DKJ Governor, which will still be done directly by the people through regional head elections, while the Chairperson of the Agglomeration Region Council will be appointed by the President.

KOMPAS/NIKOLAUS HARBOWO

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian held a meeting with the Legislative Body of the House of Representatives and the Regional Representatives Council to discuss the Special Region of Jakarta Bill on Wednesday (13/3/2024) at the Parliament Building in Jakarta.

Previously, the mechanism for selecting Jakarta's governor and deputy governor sparked debate in parliament. In fact, discussions were even postponed because there was no common ground between the DPR's DKJ bill working committee and the government. At first, "the governor and deputy governor are appointed and dismissed by the president, taking into account the proposal or opinion of the DPRD". However, the government insisted that Jakarta's governor and deputy governor continue to be directly elected by the people, as has been the case so far.

In addition to the issue of governor elections, the proposal from the Agglomeration Council to be led by the vice president also sparked debates in parliament. However, in the end, everyone agreed that the chairman and members of the DKJ Agglomeration Council would be appointed by the president. Further provisions regarding this clause are regulated in the presidential decree.

A faction has proposed that Jakarta become a legislative city, IKN Nusantara become an executive city, and finding another location for the judiciary city, as has been done in South Africa.

According to the Chairman of the Legislative Body of the House of Representatives, Supratman Agtas, the Jakarta Capital Region Law (UU DKJ) will give the President the authority to determine the composition of the chairperson and members of the Jakarta Agglomeration Council. The establishment of this council will be carried out through the issuance of a presidential regulation. Not only that, but the Jakarta Governor and Vice Governor will also be elected through a direct election mechanism.

Before the gavel was struck, the PKS Faction raised an interruption regarding the DKJ Bill. A member of the DPR from the PKS Faction, Ansory Siregar, stated that the discussion of the DKJ Bill was done hurriedly. The PKS Faction considered that the DKJ Bill has not met the significant element of public participation.

Also read: Behind the quick discussion of the DKJ Bill, is there really the name Gibran?

The issue of air pollution is not new. The community's condition, which is threatened by air pollution, has been going on for a long time. There is also no shortage of research evidence indicating the threats of air pollution's impacts. However, in reality, significant efforts to control air pollution have not yet been made. Residents are increasingly suffering under the burden of air pollution. The PKS faction has also not seen any specificity given to Jakarta in the DKJ Bill. Ansory said that there should be rules that provide special treatment for Jakarta, such as the elimination of taxes that have been applied in other regions such as Batam.

"The PKS faction proposed that Jakarta become the legislative city, IKN Nusantara become the executive city, and find another location for the judicial city as has been done in South Africa," said Ansory.