Public Voice Not Heard, DPR Still Approves TNI Bill Tomorrow Thursday

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Despite increasingly widespread public opposition, the House of Representatives (DPR) will proceed with ratifying the Draft Law on Amendments to Law Number 34 of 2004 concerning the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) at the plenary session tomorrow, Thursday (20/3/2025). Members of parliament consider criticism from the public to be a natural expression during the drafting of any legislation. The DPR assures that the amendments to the TNI Law will not reinstate the dual function of the TNI.

The Draft Bill on the Armed Forces (RUU TNI) was finalized during the first-level discussion on Tuesday night (18/3/2025). Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government, represented by Deputy Minister of Defense Donny Ermawan Taufanto, have agreed to bring the Draft Bill on the Armed Forces to be ratified in the plenary session scheduled for Thursday (20/3/2025).

On Wednesday (19/3/2025) evening, an invitation for a plenary session of the DPR was circulated, addressed to the leadership and members of the DPR. The invitation stated that the first agenda of the plenary session, which would begin at 9:30 AM, was the second-level discussion/decision-making on the TNI Bill.

Regarding the agenda for the ratification of the TNI Bill in the plenary session on Thursday, this was confirmed by Deputy Chairman of Commission I of the DPR, Dave Laksono. The agenda had been mutually agreed upon during the decision-making process in the first-level discussions.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, along with the Chairman of Commission I, Utut Adianto, and Deputy Chairman of Commission I, Anton Sukartono Suratto, have also met with President Prabowo Subianto to discuss the Draft Bill on the Armed Forces. During the closed meeting, which lasted approximately one hour at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, the President was reported to have approved the revision of the Armed Forces Law.

Utut also ensured that the TNI Bill will be brought to the DPR Plenary Meeting to be approved to become law tomorrow, Thursday.

Meanwhile, although the TNI Bill is one step away from being passed, protests against the government's and DPR's efforts to amend the TNI Law are becoming increasingly widespread. On Wednesday afternoon, students from Trisakti University held a demonstration rejecting the revision of the TNI Law at the Pancasila Gate of the DPR/MPR/DPD building in Jakarta. In their demands, they rejected all drafts of the TNI Law revision. They also called for the creation or dismissal of active TNI-Polri officers currently holding civilian positions.

The next demand is to realize civilian supremacy and cease sidelining the reform agenda. Lastly, they reject all forms of militarization in civilian governance and demand the government's commitment to upholding democratic values and human rights.

The President of the Student Body at Trisakti University, Faiz Nabawi Mulya, stated that the revision of the TNI Law brings various impacts that could weaken civilian supremacy. In addition, it increases the risk of the return of the TNI's Dual Function and creates opportunities for abuse of power and corruption within the military.

"If the revision of the TNI Law is implemented without strict supervision, Indonesian democracy could experience a decline, with the military once again becoming the dominant actor in political and governmental life," he said.

Seeing the DPR and government's steps that ignore public input, the students will demonstrate until tomorrow, Thursday.

If the revision of the TNI Law is implemented without strict supervision, Indonesian democracy could experience a decline.

Responding to student demonstrations rejecting the ratification of the TNI Bill, Dave said that demonstrations are a citizen's right and are protected by the constitution. Dave asked that aspirations be conveyed in accordance with applicable regulations.

"So as long as they follow the rules and are not anarchic, it is the right of the people to express their respective views and opinions," he said.

According to Dave, pros and cons are common in the discussion of the revision of the TNI Law. He claims that there will be no return to the dual function of the TNI as feared by civil society and students. He also guarantees that the DPR will actually maintain civilian supremacy.

"If the pros and cons polemic is a common thing, but actually everything has been refuted, why? Because things related to the return of dual function in the TNI or ABRI will not be possible, because things that say the eradication of civil supremacy does not exist," said Dave.

Dave claims that the revision of the TNI Law actually emphasizes positions in ministries/institutions that can be filled by active soldiers. The previous TNI Law already regulated positions in 10 ministries and institutions that can be filled by active soldiers, now it has increased.

In Article 47 of the TNI Law that has been agreed upon, soldiers can hold positions in ministries/institutions that oversee the coordination of state politics and security, state defense including the national defense council, the state secretariat that handles presidential secretariat affairs and the presidential military secretariat, state intelligence, cyber and/or state codes, national resilience institutions, search and rescue, national narcotics, border management, disaster management, counterterrorism, maritime security, the Attorney General's Office of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Supreme Court.

"Currently, the TNI has filled the positions in the ministry, in institutions such as BSSN, Bakamla, BNPB, all of them, the TNI has filled all the positions. So actually there is no more debate. In fact, with this law, it limits the TNI's departure from its main function and also ensures that this civil supremacy, the supremacy of law, will continue to run," said Dave.