"The president has said a total of 3,143 bylaws have officially been revoked by the Ministry of Home Affairs," Anung noted.
In view of this, he said if a city mayor, district head, or provincial government passed a bylaw similar to the scrapped ones, then it will automatically be dropped as it will run counter to the higher law.
"We have seen, evaluated, and discovered that there were many bylaws, which run against the higher laws, and they are mostly linked to intolerance," he pointed out.
Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo stated that President Joko Widodo had also given instructions to eradicate all bylaws that hindered the licensing or investment process.
He said several bylaws linked to retribution payment, which were considered unnecessary, such as those for IDs, birth certificates, and others, had been revoked.
"They have all been revoked," he emphasized.
Tjahjo remarked that his office had called to strengthen bylaws on alcohol, narcotics abuse, and sexual crimes against children.
"The bylaw on alcoholic drinks is linked to distribution control, which implies control against illegal distribution," he pointed out.
Tjahjo said he had urged the local governments to increase supervision over the distribution of alcohol up to the village level.
He suggested that local government leaders could issue a circular or an appeal with regard to the intolerance issue in the best interests of their communities.
However, in a bid to ensure the implementation of a circular or an appeal, the apparatus must not overact.
President Widodo had stated on Monday that 3,143 bylaws were believed to have impeded national capacity and hindered the efforts to overcome competition or were not in keeping with the spirit of unity in diversity.
The bylaws were annulled based on four criteria. These were, first, slowing down regional economic growth and adding to bureaucratic procedures; second, obstructing the licensing and investment process; third, impeding the ease of doing business; and fourth, contradicting higher regulations, the president explained while making an announcement on the revocation at a press conference at the Merdeka Palace here on Monday.
"The annulment of these laws was aimed at making Indonesia a tolerant and competitive nation," he remarked in the company of Minister Tjahjo and Cabinet Secretary Anung.
As a big nation, Indonesia must strengthen its capacity in the face of increasingly fiercer competition in the global market, he affirmed.
"As a pluralistic nation, we must also strengthen ourselves by upholding the spirit of tolerance and unity," he emphasized.
Therefore, the central and regional governments must harbor an integral vision and share tasks, he stressed.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
