Ahead of DPR Plenary Session, President Prabowo Said to Have Approved Revision of TNI Law

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — A day after the bill to amend Law Number 34 of 2004 concerning the TNI was agreed to be ratified in a plenary session, the DPR leadership met with President Prabowo Subianto. Although not open to the public, the DPR leadership did not deny that the meeting discussed the TNI Bill. The President is said to have agreed to the amendment to the TNI Law.

The DPR leaders who met President Prabowo were Deputy Speaker of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, Chairman of Commission I of the DPR Utut Adianto, and Deputy Chairman of Commission I of the DPR Anton Sukartono Suratto. The three arrived at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta, Wednesday (19/3/2025), at around 14.00 WIB. They immediately met President Prabowo at the Merdeka Palace and only came out about 1 hour later.

Moments before Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and the leaders of Commission I of the House of Representatives left the Merdeka Palace, media crews were directed to enter the press conference room in the Presidential Office. In that room, the media usually wait for officials who give press statements after meeting the President. However, from that room, journalists cannot monitor the movement of people leaving the Merdeka Palace.

While still waiting, the media crew suddenly received news that the leaders of the DPR and Commission I of the DPR had canceled their press statement. When the media crew left the press conference room, the leaders of Commission I of the DPR were seen leaving the Merdeka Palace using a bogey car. They could still be found because they had to get out of the bogey car before passing through the fence to the exit of the Palace.

When met, Utut Adianto also emphasized that his party was not willing to provide a press statement. Because, he did not want to precede the discussion of the TNI Bill which will only be discussed on Thursday (20/3/2025) tomorrow. "Because, if I had said that, it would be uncomfortable, right," he said.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician did not deny that the closed-door discussion with the President discussed the TNI Bill. According to the plan, the TNI Bill will be brought to the DPR Plenary Meeting to be approved to become a law tomorrow, Thursday.

According to him, the President has approved the TNI Bill. "Well, there are no problems at all," said Utut.

However, the senior PDI-P politician was reluctant to explain further about the President's approval of the TNI Bill. According to him, there has been an agreement made with the government, especially State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, to provide a full statement tomorrow.

The President has approved the TNI Bill. Right, there are no problems at all.

"Not avoiding. This is not, not. Because earlier with Mas Pras (State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi) we all agreed to do it tomorrow," said Utut.

On Tuesday (18/3/2025), Commission I of the DPR and the government agreed to bring the TNI Bill to be passed into law in a plenary meeting on Thursday. In fact, the discussion of the revision of the TNI Law was rejected by the public both in terms of substance and discussion procedures.

In terms of substance, the revised articles are considered to be able to restore the dual function of the TNI as in the New Order era. Meanwhile, in terms of procedure, the legislative process that was carried out tended to be closed and did not involve the community meaningfully.

The polemic of the rejection of the TNI Bill has spread among the public and netizens. In cyberspace, netizens have spread various content containing reasons for rejection and controversial points in the revision of the TNI Law. Demonstrations have also taken place in several areas, including on Wednesday afternoon.

However, Utut was reluctant to respond when asked about the ongoing public criticism. He was also reluctant to explain whether public input through the demonstration was a consideration to stop the legislative process for the TNI Bill.

Contacted separately, Jentera Law School Lecturer in Law, Fajri Nursyamsi, said that the DPR and the President should consider the severity of the public's rejection. Thus, discussion of the TNI Bill should not be forced to be ratified during this session.

"It needs to be elaborated further because the public also has limited access to information, even the DPR has never officially disseminated the draft bill," he said.

Fajri added that the process of forming laws is indeed the authority of the DPR and the government. Therefore, no bill is passed without mutual agreement between the DPR and the President. However, that does not mean that the legislative process can be carried out recklessly, without meaningfully involving the community.

Meanwhile, a lecturer in Constitutional Law at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Herlambang Perdana Wiratraman, assessed that the agreement between the President and the DPR as seen in the meeting at the Merdeka Palace on Wednesday afternoon was not surprising. According to him, it indicated the repetition of the legislative process that ignored the public's voice. "Legislative crimes are real and recurring," he said.

In addition to the legislative process, Herlambang said, the substance of the TNI Bill, especially regarding the regulation of military operations other than war (OMSP) in Article 7 Paragraph (4) is also dangerous. This is because OMSP is said to be regulated further through presidential regulations and government regulations. This means that it will be under executive control.

"(OMSP) should be clearly regulated in the law. Why? Because of the potential for abuse and impact on the public, especially since this is a matter of very basic authority in security institutions and their power relations," he said.

Furthermore, Herlambang reminded that in theory, there is a granting of authority to institutions that are mandated and stated explicitly in the constitution as part of the security sector. However, there is also authority as a power that has the potential to violate the rights of citizens. Therefore, strict regulation through laws is very necessary.