Adhyasta Dirgantara, Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – The protests launched by the public did not deter the House of Representatives (DPR) from passing the Draft Law on the Indonesian Military (RUU TNI) into law.

The RUU TNI was ratified by the DPR at a plenary meeting on Thursday March 20 even though demonstrations were held in various regions to reject the draft law which it is believed will revive the dwi-fungsi or dual function of the ABRI, as the TNI was known during the New Order era of former president Suharto.

DPR Speaker Puan Maharani claimed that the RUU TNI that was passed does not contain articles that the public needs to worry about.

"We together with the government emphasise that the revisions to Law Number 34/2004 on the TNI remain based on the values and principles of democracy, civil supremacy, human rights, and meets the provisions of national and international law that have already been ratified", she said when ratifying the RUU TNI.

Maharani claimed that the DPR had listened to the aspirations of the people when discussing the RUU TNI. She said that the discussions were also done transparently.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician also claimed that she was ready to provide an explanation to those parties who still reject or are demonstrating against the RUU TNI.

She stated that what they suspect and are worried about with the RUU TNI would not happen. "We hope and appeal to students who may not have received an explanation or the information they need, we are ready to provide an explanation", said Maharani.

"What is of concern, what was suspected, that there were news reports that the RUU TNI is not in accordance with what is hoped, God willing it is not so. We hope that the RUU TNI that was passed earlier will be beneficial for the nation and state in the future", she added.

Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin added that the government will not disappoint the people after the RUU TNI was passed into law.

"Permit me, the Minister of Defence, representing the government of the Republic of Indonesia, to convey the principle of the TNI's identity as a people's military, a warrior military, a professional military. We will never disappoint the Indonesian people in maintaining the country's sovereignty", said Sjamsoeddin.

In line with Maharani, he also guaranteed that ABRI's dual function would not be revived along with the ratification of the RUU TNI. Sjamsoeddin claimed that the government was actually trying to build the strength of the TNI that still adheres to civilian supremacy.

"So there is no more military conscription in Indonesia. There is no more dual function in Indonesia, never mind the corpse, even the spirit is gone", said Sjamsoeddin.

While the members of the DPR were laughing heartily and freely inside the building, the students outside were holding demonstrations rejecting the ratification of the RUU TNI.

The demonstration were born from anxieties and fears over a return to the New Order era after the RUU TNI is enacted.

And because no representatives from the DPR or the government came out to meet with the demonstrators, the protesters attempted to break down one of the entrance gates in front of the people's representative offices on Thursday evening.

Furnished with a thick rope, they pulled on the concrete barrier together until it collapsed, as did the more than two-metre high fence, which finally came down.

The students' actions however actually resulted in anarchic actions by the police who pushed the protesters back as soon as they broke through the fence.

"We had just started to enter, when they immediately rained down on us with batons and punches", said University of Indonesia (UI) Student Executive Council (BEM) coordinator for social and political affairs, Muhammad Bagir Shadr, when contacted by Kompas.com early on Friday morning, March 21.

"Some of the demonstrators at the front became victims. They were beaten and injured. Some suffered head injuries and were unconscious", he said.

One of the action participants who were in the front row was also beaten by officers until his glasses fell off and were lost.

The ratification of the RUU TNI appears to add to the long list of draft laws and policies enacted by the government and DPR without considering the voices of the public.

Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Chairperson Muhammad Isnur says that the DPR and the government had become tyrannical because they discussed and enacted the RUU TNI at lightning speed without accommodating criticism.

"The YLBHI strongly condemns this ratification, even though we were aware and predicted that the discussions and ratification of the RUU TNI would be carried out at lightning speed and in an unconstitutional manner like this", said Isnur in a statement on Thursday.

"This is a pattern that has been seen in the DPR since the revisions to the UU KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission Law], the UU Cipta Kerja [Omnibus Law on Job Creation], the UU Minerba [Minerals and Coal Mining Law] and the UU BUMN [State-Owned Industries Law]. The DPR together with the government have become tyrannical, where they do not tolerate differences or criticism", he reiterated.

Isnur is of the view that the political parties in parliament are no different from the government. In fact, according to Isnur, political parties are now following the ruler's desires. "The Parties through their factions are like buffaloes being poked in the nose, following the ruler's desires", he said.

The YLBHI also sees that the voices and concerns of the ordinary people are no longer a guideline or reference in making laws. According to Isnur, the principles and spirit of a democratic state based on law as guaranteed in the 1945 Constitution are no longer the basis or framework for drafting laws and arguments.

"Even, the voice of the Constitutional Court which has repeatedly reprimanded the practice of drafting unconstitutional laws was also not listened to", said Isnur.

In line with Isnur, Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) Deputy Director Hussein Ahmad also believes that the RUU TNI was passed without considering public opinion. Moreover the public was unable to access the official RUU TNI document that was passed by the DPR.

"We don't know, because up until today the text has not been uploaded to the public, it cannot be accessed by the public and let alone discussed", said Ahmad. "So until now, the official text, which we can trust that it is actually the one ratified, we have not yet been able to receive it", he said.

According to Ahmad therefore, no one can guarantee that the RUU TNI will ensure that civilian supremacy is maintained. "It's not yet certain. We are still anxiously hoping, yeah, in this situation because we cannot see what the articles are", said Ahmad.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "RUU TNI Disahkan, Suara Publik Diabaikan".]

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2025/03/21/06545271/ruu-tni-disahkan-suara-publik-diabaikan