(During the meeting), all of those present agreed to advance deliberation of the bill to the second reading for the final decision
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The House of Representatives (DPR RI) has passed five provincial bills as law during a plenary session at the Parliament Complex here.

"Can the bills on West Sumatra, Jambi, Riau, East Nusa Tenggara, and West Nusa Tenggara be passed as law?" Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad inquired on Thursday during the plenary session, which drew a unanimous approval from members of parliament.

DPR RI Commission II Deputy Chair Junimart Girsang earlier reported that the first reading of the bills took place during a working meeting on Tuesday (June 21).

"(During the meeting), all of those present agreed to advance deliberation of the bill to the second reading for the final decision," Girsang stated.


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Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian highlighted that the government lauded and expressed gratitude to all parties that had worked effectively and dedicatedly in passing the five provincial bills as laws.

"The drafting (of the bill) aims to renew the legal basis and scope that are no longer compatible with the current conditions," the minister remarked.

The drafting of the five bills is adopting the substance of seven provincial laws passed earlier, he noted while adding that the provincial laws will provide the legal basis for derivative laws enacted by local authorities, including regional and regional head regulations.

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Earlier, Chair of DPR RI's Commission II Ahmad Doli Kurnia Tanjung stated that the legal basis for the establishment of at least 20 provinces and 239 districts and cities in Indonesia is still derived from past emergency laws that do not accentuate the characteristics of the regions.

"We found that some 20 provinces and 239 cities and districts need to have their legal basis rectified because (they) are still based on emergency laws, and some laws are establishing multiple provinces," Tanjung stated during a working visit to Padang, West Sumatra, on Thursday (June 16).

The provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau, whose establishment is based on a single law -- Emergency Law No. 19 of 1957 -- are among the provinces whose legal basis must be rectified, he pointed out.


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Translator: Fauzi, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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