Demonstrations in Jakarta and Regions Turned into Chaos

Jakarta, MINA -Demonstrations of students and workers in Jakarta and a number of regions rejecting the Omnibus Law on the Job Creation Act ended in chaos on Thursday.

The riot occurred on Thursday afternoon in Central Jakarta, namely at Harmoni and Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, which is less than 1 kilometer from the State Palace.

Hundreds of protesters tried to push the police lines closer to the front of the State Palace. Police fired tear gas and beat the protesters back. Thus quoted from Anadolu Agency.

Riots also occurred in several other areas such as Tangerang, Malang, Batam and Lampung.

A national strike by workers and student demonstrations has been going on since Tuesday, October 6, 2020 after the House of Representatives (DPR) passed the Job Creation Law.

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The coordination of the Indonesian Student Executive Board (BEM) Alliance Center, Remy Hastian, assessed that this omnibus law is more pro-businessmen and has the potential to threaten the rights of the poor.

They urged the government to cancel the ratification of this Job Creation Law.

“We agreed to reject and seek other alternatives such as a judicial review, and urge the president to issue a Government Regulation in Lieu of a Law (Perppu),” Remy said in a press statement, Thursday.

The Indonesian National Police (Polri) previously tried to isolate and ban the crowd on the grounds of preventing the spread of Covid-19.

However, the pandemic has not stopped the actions of workers and students from taking to the streets to reject this law.

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The final draft of the Omnibus Law on the Job Creation Law consists of 905 pages and consists of 11 main clusters including simplification of licensing, investment requirements, employment, and convenience and empowerment of MSME and cooperative protection.

The Omnibus Law The Job Creation Law also changes 79 laws, including the Manpower Law, the Spatial Planning Law, and the Environmental Management Law.

One that has caused controversy is the labor cluster which is considered to threaten workers’ rights.

In addition, this omnibus law is also considered to have a bad impact on the environment because it is easy to permit for investment. (T/RE1)

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Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)