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JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo defended his iconic job creation law on Friday (October 9) after violent protests broke out earlier this week against the legislation.
The country, Jokowi said, needed the broad “omnibus” law to provide employment for its young population and those who were unemployed due to the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the protests he said: “I saw demonstrations against the job creation law that were basically motivated by disinformation.
He urged critics to challenge the law in the Constitutional Court if they disagreed with its content.
Critics say the “omnibus” law undermines labor rights and weakens environmental protections. Unions, students and academics have criticized the bill for a perceived lack of expedited consultation and approval.
Earlier on Friday, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan had said he would inform the president of protesters’ demands for the polarizing law to be repealed as a growing number of regional leaders oppose the new legislation.
At least four other governors have told protesters that they will write to the president calling for the law to be struck down, according to their statements and local media reports.
About 13,000 police officers were deployed on Thursday to block access to government buildings in central Jakarta, but failed to prevent protesters from heading into the heart of the capital.
Tear gas was fired near the presidential palace in Jakarta on Thursday afternoon, and clashes broke out around 2 p.m.
Some protesters burned tires, smashed bus stops and dismantled partitions of a construction site, while others were seen breaking bricks and concrete into smaller pieces to be thrown at the police.
