[Unpad.ac.id, 17/12/2012] The House of Representatives has initiated a special committee (pansus) to revisit the controversial national security (Kamnas) bill. Many argue that national security bill is completely unnecessary and requires careful study.
“Honestly speaking, national security act is necessary for a global national security system,” said Andi Widjajanto, Ph.D., military observer and lecturer at the social and political science faculty, Universitas Indonesia, when speaking at the national Seminar, “Appraising the National Interests through National Security Bill,” organized by Unpad Government Science student association in collaboration with Indonesia Center for Democracy, Diplomacy, and Defense (IC3D) last Monday (17/12).
According to him, the stability of a nation is not only threatened by any military power but also by non-military potentials. Therefore, national security systems have to combine several subsystems, namely total people’s security system (siskamrata) and total people’s defense system (sishanrata)—the very two systems that Indonesian national security bill includes.
“The government by proposing such bill is to provide the people with one integrated system under the supervision of not only the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) but also by the National Security Board (DKN),” Andi added. As for threats coming from non-military powers, As’ad Ali argues that human security is closely related to food, economic, and health stabilities even though they have yet to be clearly stated in the bill.
Indra Perwira, a constitutional law expert from faculty of law Unpad, however, definitively opposed the bill. In his opinion, prior to issuing the bill, the government has to have a very clear definition on law and security. The Indonesian Constitution 1945 article 30 only emphasizes state defense.
“State defense system is not the sole responsibility of the military. Civilians have to be included. Let’s not go the distance when the people themselves do not really have the sense of importance of such issue,” said Perwira. Perwira stresses the importance of State Defense Bill, instead of national security bill, for that necessitates Indonesian youth to go on a military draft that will enables them to get mental training and develop their character. “Without defense training, the people will find it hard to act accordingly,” he added.
Controversies are perhaps important, according to Dr. Fransiscus van Yist, to act as amending process for the national security bill. “The people can play their role despite small,” he concluded.
