The
dilemma of Indonesia’s coast guard
Siswanto Rusdi ; The director
of the National Maritime Institute (NAMARIN)
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JAKARTA
POST, 11 Februari 2015
Law No. 32/2014 on maritime affairs was deliberated in the
House of Representatives for more than two years and was passed days before
the end of the 2009-2014 term. It is the “umbrella law” of the maritime
realm.
A problem arises in chapter 58, which stipulates the
establishment of the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla). Earlier, President
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo set up the body by issuing Presidential Regulation No.
178/2014 and officially introduced it in a Hari Nusantara (Archipelago Day)
ceremony on Dec. 13, 2014.
However, a presidential regulation is not the proper basis
for the purpose. Instead, the government should issue a Government Regulation
(PP). Sources said a PP is being prepared by the Office of the Coordinating
Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister. Bakamla will carry out coast
guard tasks like law enforcement at sea, maritime search and rescue
operations and others.
Long before Bakamla existed, the government was mandated
to establish the Indonesian coast guard by Law No. 17/2008 on shipping. The
Transportation Ministry, as the leading ministry in respect of the law, tried
to set it up but it was hampered by conflicting interests among agencies with
authority at sea.
The ministry sent a series of PP drafts to then president
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but he did not sign them. The drafts were sent back
to the ministry because some of the content reportedly contradicted the
authority of other relevant agencies. The last draft even dropped the role of
the Maritime Security Coordinating Board (Bakorkamla) as one of the
constituent elements in the establishment of the Indonesian coast guard along
with the ministry’s coast guard department.
Frustrated with the policy, Bakorkamla lobbied the
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry. With the passing of Law No. 32/2014,
Bakorkamla was transformed into Bakamla.
Indonesia has two agencies prepared to assume coast guard
tasks: one is already operational and it is only a matter of time until the
other follows suit. The Navy, the National Police, the Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries Ministry, the Transportation Ministry and the Finance Ministry
(customs department) at certain levels also conduct coast guard tasks that
concern law enforcement at sea.
Therefore, the sea will be full of government patrol boats
with overlapping missions. For the shipping players, the situation is a
nightmare because the agencies launch multiple interdictions at their
vessels, which may have to be settled by paying some money to patrol boat
commanding officers. According to the Indonesia National Shipowners
Association (INSA), the practice costs the industry Rp 7 trillion per year.
The Indonesian coast guard is being introduced to stop
such practices. Unfortunately, the idea always collides with the vested
interests of ministries. For them, there is no single agency at sea. Each
ministry can carry out maritime patrols as long as they have a legal
foundation to do so.
Additionally, the coast guard only deals with navigational
safety while the security issues are handled by other institutions like the
Navy, National Police or Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.
Therefore, efforts to establish the Indonesian coast guard
by President Jokowi must be supported. But he should firstly be fair. We want
the President to give a big push to the Transportation Ministry to finalize
the establishment of the Indonesian coast guard as demanded by Law No.
17/2008. Consequently, he needs to stop whatever preparatory actions are
being done in setting up Bakamla.
The call is urgent since there are indications that
Bakamla will be directed to be a more security heavy agency with military
muscle, rather than just being a civilian institution. Those behind Bakamla
still see problems at sea merely in the security perspective. Whereas the
real, ignored problems include sub-standard vessels and ill-certified crews.
Several countries in the region have slowly transferred
law enforcement at sea to their coast guard institutions. Malaysia is the
best example, establishing the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
Ideally, Indonesia must have its own coast guard institution. ●
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