"Prior to the revision of Law No. 9/2013 on the prevention and eradication of terrorism, the government should evaluate counter-terrorism measures and the implementation of the law to counter terrorism," Mahfudz Sidik said here on Wednesday.
Sidik remarked that the government should undertake this evaluation to assess the performance of the institutions in carrying out their duties in battling terrorism.
"If the government finds weaknesses in implementation, then corrective steps should be taken. If there are rules that hamper agencies in carrying out their duties, the government should revise the terrorism law," he said.
The terrorism law explains in detail that every citizen residing abroad but convicted of acts of terrorism may be subject to be prosecuted under criminal laws in Indonesia.
"If Indonesian citizens residing abroad are convicted of acts of terrorism, then they can be proceeded against under criminal laws," he said.
The lawmaker remarked that Indonesian citizens, who joined ISIS, could be subjected to the Terrorism Law and charged with crimes.
He said that the revision effected in the terrorism law might not solve the real problems.
As for the revision, there were two ways. One was the governments proposal included in the 2016 national legislation program.
Secondly, President Joko Widodo could issue a government regulation in lieu of the law (Perppu), if the head of state considered the situation to be one involving national interest.
However, the president should present a regulation to be passed into law during the House session.
Earlier, National Police chief General Badrodin Haiti had asked the government to revise Law No. 9/2013 on the prevention and eradication of terrorism, in a bid to battle terrorism.
"The current law on terrorism does not allow us to apprehend people who are planning to carry out acts of terror. They cannot be detained," Badrodin Haiti said here on Tuesday.
Haiti said the police need a strict and strong law to combat terrorism and anticipate certain radical groups activities.
He noted that the Jakarta bombings should prompt a better understanding of the threat of terrorism.
"The police can combat acts of terror and violence, and was not against any religion," he affirmed.
On Saturday, one more victim of last Thursdays Jakarta attack, who was under treatment at the Abdi Waluyo Hospital in Jakarta, died.
Spokesman for the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Senior Commissioner M Iqbal said here on Sunday morning that the victim was identified as Rais Karna, 37, who worked as an office boy at the Bangkok Bank branch in Jakarta.
Iqbal said the family had taken the body home from the hospital to Bogor District, West Java, for burial.
Rais Karna was shot in the head when the terrorists attacked a traffic police station at MH Thamrin Street, Central Jakarta, on Thursday morning.
Two other victims who were identified as Indonesian national Rico Hermawan and Canadian Amir Quali Tamer had died at the scene when a bomb exploded at the Thamrins traffic police station on Thursday. At least 32 people were injured in the terror attack.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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