Indonesia's Omnibus Law and Fiscal Decentralization
In the amid of the pandemic, the government is not slowing down the deliberation on the controversial omnibus bill. In fact, the government was expecting that the bill could be passed by the end of the year 2020 to accelerate the country’s investment recovery. Pros and cons emerge as the bill is being discussed. On one hand, the pros argue that this bill is going to increase the easiness of doing business in the country, resulting in a better investment climate. On the other hand, the cons mostly concern about how the bill will affect the livelihood of Indonesian workers. Another interesting topic which is rarely highlighted is how the omnibus bill can alter Indonesia’s decentralization system. It is important to put this topic in the spotlight since decentralization plays an important role in Indonesian integration. We must not forget that our “big bang” decentralization in 2001 was a response to what was perceived as over-centralization prior to 1998. It was the answer to the ri...