SOCIAL SECURITY BILL PUT TO NEXT HOUSE SITTING

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, July 22 (ANTARA)  - The government and the House are forced to extend the deliberation time-line of the Bill on Social Security Management Agency (RUU BPJS) over opposition on the planned merger of four state-owned insurance firms into BPJS based on the draft law.           "We agreed in view of the importance of the bill to discuss it again in the next House sitting period to assure that no more problem is left when it is passed" the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after a meeting with the House leadership on Thursday evening.          The government has previously agreed to speed up the enactment of the bill following insistence from many quarters, particularly trade unions, that the bill which had been drafted since the era of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, has to be endorsed soon.          However, the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government are not yet able to finish deliberating it in the current House sitting due to opposition to a clause in the bill that suggested the  transformation into BPJS of four SOEs that have so far been operating in social insurance services.          The four insurance agency SOEs are Jamsostek (for workers), Taspen (civil servants), Asabri (the military) and Askes (health insurance for civil servants). The opposition reportedly came to surface in recent rallies organized by a handful of the elite circles of the four state-owned firms' workers' unions.          "The government and the DPR agreed that the BPJS bill has to be settled. All the problems hindering its settlement so far have basically happened merely because information has not been received fully. So there is nothing extraordinary. But it needs time discuss it in more detail so that the law later could be implemented well not only by the present but also future governments and would not leave a "time bomb"," House Speaker Marzuki Alie said meanwhile.          President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono and the House leadership met at the State Guest House on Thursday to discuss the  problem of bill.          The head of state said the decision to extend its discussion was made to assure that no problem was left when it was enacted to hinder or cause problems to the present and next government during its implementation. It must be assured that things would go smoothly when implemented such as the merger of a number of state-owned companies operating in insurance and social security business.           "Discussions have already narrowed down to one or two issues such as about the merger of insurance agencies like Jamsostek, Taspen, Asabri and Askes. This must be put in order well while the transition must be realistic so that no serious problem is left. We do not want problems to arise after it is enacted," President Yudhoyono said.           Earlier, the House's BPJS Special Committee and the government in a working meeting agreed to submit a proposal to the DPR plenary that the time-line for deliberations on the bill be extended to the DPR's next meeting period.          "The DPR's  RUU BPJS Special Committee   and the government agreed to propose to the plenary that the time allotted for deliberations on the bill be extended to the House's next sitting," chairman of the House's Special Committee, Ahmad Nizar Shibah, said on Sunday night.           Ahmad was reading out the conclusions of the working meeting between the government and the House special committee.  The other conclusion of the working meeting was that the government had accepted the report of the working committee on RUU BPJS. "The Special Committee and the government agreed to accept the report of the working committee on condition that point 2g of the report should be dropped," Ahmad said.          Clause or point 2g concerns the transformation of four state-owned social security firms, namely PT Taspen, PT Asabri, PT Askes and PT Jamsostek into two BPJSs. But it has sparked polemics and was rejected by a number of interest groups in society.          There are even allegations that foreign interest have interfered in the deal over the bill, but the House circles denied it.          Earlier, two economists, Didiek Rachbini and Faisal Basri, said there were sides who felt their 'game instruments' were to disappear if the four SOEs were transformed into a BPJS.          A researcher concurred the economists' view. "The problem is with the SOEs   which so far have collected hundreds of trillions of funds. It seems that there are parities who do not like if they become BPJS," Nusantara Study Institute (ISN) researcher Michael Umbas said.          As it was reported, the allegations over the presence of foreign involvement in the formulation of the bill came to the surface in line with the appearance of protests initiated by a handful of SOE's workers union elite.          Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso denied the allegation. He said the allegation had come to the surface when the four SOEs were expected to be transformed into two social security management agencies (BPJS).  "So, the House as if only talks about how to transform the SOE into a BPJS. This allegation is exaggerating," Priyo said.          "We hope our friends in the four SOEs would not think that we are going to dismantle the firms which so far have made great contribution," he said.          Chairman of the executive board of SOKSI (a Golkar Party's workers organization), Ade Komarudin regretted the fact that deliberations on the bill were not yet finished until now because the people urgently needed the law.       He said the majority of SOKSI members were workers such as laborers, farmers and fishermen.  "Therefore, SOKSI has instructed its cadres to seriously fight for the passing into law of the bill in the interest of the people.          Labor unions have urged the government and the House enact the bill. "We call on the government to endorse the bill this year so that the Social Insurance Management Agency can also be established this year," President of the Confederation of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (KSBSI), Mudhofir said last May.         Workers need the enactment of the RUU BPJS as a legal instrument to implement five insurance programs stipulated in Law No. 40 / 2004. The five social insurance programs contained in the law are national health insurance, old age insurance, occupational accident insurance, life insurance and pensioner insurance.***3*** (T.A014/ A/H-NG  ) 22-07-2011 11:17:2