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“We have prepared the concepts of the government regulations,” Bahlil said in a virtual presser
on Tuesday.
“They will only need adjustments if there are any changes to the articles.”

The government is hoping to revise 79 prevailing laws and more than 1,200 articles through the
omnibus bill. The bill, which is more than 1,000 pages long and contains 174 articles in 15
chapters, has faced backlash from labor unions, observers and NGOs that argue it will jeopardize
labor rights and weaken environmental protection, among other issues.

Lawmakers are expected to discuss issues related to the employment provisions in the bill this
month to accommodate proposed revisions on wages, severance pay, layoffs and social security,
among other things, that were submitted by 18 labor unions in August.

The government expects the bill to address many overlapping regulations and help attract
investment to support economic growth and create jobs.

Bahlil, however, admitted that the bill might not have any significant impact on investment this
year, adding that the effects were expected to be felt next year.

The government expects to attract Rp 817.2 trillion (US$55.4 billion) in investment this year.

“We estimate that growth [in investment next year] could be 2 to 3 percent higher than normal
growth. But, we need to adjust the data to take into account [the impacts of ] COVID -19,” said
Bahlil.

Investment increased 12.2 percent year-on-year (yoy) in 2019, much higher than the 4.1 percent
recorded in 2018. BKPM reported in late July that Rp 191.9 trillion in investment had been
recorded in the second quarter of this year, 4.3 percent lower than the same period last year.

Domestic investment fell 1.4 percent yoy and foreign direct investment fell 6.9 percent yoy.

However, Bahlil said his office estimated the investment figures in the July-September period
would be better than the figures in the April-June period.

Earlier, the World Bank has expressed strong criticism toward the omnibus bill on job creation,
arguing that the proposed reform currently under deliberation at the House of Representatives
could adversely affect the environment and labor rights.

World Bank Indonesia and Timor Leste country director Satu Kahkonen said the bill was very
much needed so Indonesia could attract foreign investors. However, she expressed concerns
about the environmental and labor aspects of the bill.

“It’s going to move Indonesia’s environmental legislation further away from the implementation
of best practices,” Kahkonen said during a virtual launch of the Indonesia Economic Prospect
report in late July.

She said the bill was “basically not helping Indonesia”, as it proposed loosening environmental
protection requirements, which could negatively affect the livelihoods of those that depended on
the country’s natural assets.
The omnibus bill seeks to revise 79 prevailing laws and more than 1,200 articles, from labor and
mining regulations to business license and environmental laws, to cut red tape and attract
investment to the country.

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