, The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 06/16/2006 1:45 PM
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Legal experts rebuked the central government Thursday for being hesitant to immediately revoke sharia-derived bylaws, which they said clearly flouted higher laws and could cause national disintegration.
They urged officials to act against the bylaws, which they said contravened the Constitution and other higher laws as well as the state ideology of Pancasila that recognizes pluralism and secularism.
""Local governments cannot regulate the religious affairs of their residents. Only the central government has the authority to do so,"" autonomy law expert Ryaas Rasyid said.
Article 3 of the 2004 Regional Administration Law gives the central government the right to regulate issues of international policy, defense, judicial, monetary and fiscal matters and religious affairs.
""All such sharia-derived bylaws can be revoked through a presidential decree,"" said the regional autonomy minister during the Abdurrahman ""Gus Dur"" Wahid administration who was involved in drawing up the autonomy law.
Some consider the government's reluctance to stem from fears of a backlash from hard-line religious groups and political opportunists.
Legal expert Denny Indrayana also urged the central government to take immediate action against the ordinances for the sake of national unity.
He regretted what he termed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's reticence in the decision-making process. ""SBY always hesitates to make any decision.""
Lack of coordination on the part of political parties also worsened the problem, he said.
""This is very strange because members of political parties at local legislative councils have supported the bylaws while those in the House of Representatives were opposed.""
Golkar Party members in the House and other legislators from nationalist parties have issued a petition for the President to scrap the sharia ordinances because of the potential to splinter multiethnic, religiously pluralistic Indonesia.
In contrast, Golkar councillors in several regions, including Tangerang in Banten province, have supported the bylaws.
The religiously motivated ordinances, many of which focus on prostitution and the consumption of alcohol, are considered to be particularly prone to misuse against the rights of women.
Denny said there was no reason for the central government to delay revoking the bylaws. ""Based on Law No. 32/2004, the government can make a decision 60 days after local administrations give bylaws for review,"" he said.
The national unity and politics director-general at the Home Affairs Ministry, Sudarsono Hardjosoekarto, said his office was still looking into whether the sharia-based ordinances were in line with the 2004 autonomy law. ""There are several procedures that we have to follow.""
Sudarsono said the ministry's first step would be to ask governors, mayors and regents to identify all bylaws to determine if they violated human rights, Pancasila, the Constitution and other higher laws.
""Then, the local administrations can review their own bylaws and afterward we will evaluate the ordinances whether they have violated the higher laws or not,"" he added.
He said the ministry was authorized to revoke bylaws that have been issued. (05)
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