Revisiting the Amendment of the Law on Counter-terrorism

This has been a very turbulent week for most Indonesians. Three families that are supposedly connected to the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) were involved in a series of bombings in East Java. The attacks happened just days after the inmates of the prison situated in the Mobile Brigade headquarters (Mako Brimob) assaulted the guards and took over the control of the prison. In the wake of the attacks, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo gave the House of Representatives (DPR) an ultimatum: pass the long-delayed bill on the amendment of the Law on Counter-terrorism by June 2018, or else the Government will issue a Government in Lieu of Law (Perppu). Soon after the President’s remarks, the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto said that the Government and the DPR had agreed to promulgate the bill by this month. That sounds easy. So what has been the cause of the delay?

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