Cabinet Secretary: Omnibus Law as Way to Deal with Economic Pressure

Cabinet Secretary when being a speaker in Jakarta, Wednesday (4/3). (Photo: Agung/PR).

The Government proposes the omnibus law to keep up with higher global economic pressure due to Corona virus and US-China trade war, according to Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung.

“One of the key factors for economic growth is investment. To attract investment, our bureaucracy cannot be rigid and complex. Therefore, the Government proposes the omnibus law as a breakthrough,” Pramono said in Jakarta, Thursday (4/3).

Pramono went on to say that there are 79 laws and 1,244 articles that will be amended in the omnibus law and it is not an easy task for the Government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to formulate the law.

“Therefore, the Government needs public opinion and inputs. I believe a good government is a government that is strongly criticized. Without criticism, the Government will lack ‘supplement’,” Pramono added.

In terms of investment, he continued, the Government has stepped up efforts to improve the country’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) index. Indonesia is currently ranked 73 among 180 countries, increasing from 120 position in the previous time.

“If we want to become a more efficient and more developed country, the (EODB) rank must be below 55 out of 180 countries. If that figure remains the same, we would not be going anywhere. Do not let Indonesia stay in the middle-income trap,” he said.

In addition to bureaucratic reforms through the omnibus law, Pramono further said that another important thing is economic transformation.

“Particularly under the current pressure on palm oil by the European Union and environmental issues that follows,” Pramono said.

For the record, the Government has previously launched B20 and B30 diesel fuel (a diesel which contains 20 and 30 percent of biofuel) and is expected to launch B40 diesel as Indonesian experts have found the source for it.

That breakthrough invention is expected to tackle environmental problems other than moratorium on palm oil, Pramono said.

On that occasion, Pramono also explained the Government’s achievements on reducing poverty ratio, the realization of investment, reducing unemployment, and maintaining trade balance.

“We have made an extraordinary achievement in narrowing down the country’s trade balance deficit; however, the Government is not satisfied yet and will continue to prepare the country to become a developed ones,” Pramono said. (MAY / EN)

Translated by: Estu Widyamurti
Reviewed by: M. Ersan Pamungkas