Jakarta. Analysts have reminded governors not to rush with issuing a circular by making sure they do not go against existing regulations and interrupt the business climate following controversial circulars that could affect the mineral water industry.
Ruli K Iskandar, a legal expert from Bandung Islamic University (Unisba), likened the rule of law to a corridor with circulars being part of this corridor. He also warned that circulars must not disrupt the public and business climate, while using Bali’s recent ban on small bottled water as an example.
“One cannot issue a circular arbitrarily, violating legal corridors. It can be used. Home Affairs Minister [Tito Karnavian] may even evaluate it,” Ruli told a recent conference.
The Home Affairs Ministry had said that it would evaluate the Bali governor’s circular on the ban on sales of bottled water under 1 liter. “Because the ban could disrupt the businesses,” Ruli said, while adding that if the circular is found to violate the law, the regional head could be subject to sanctions.
Public policy analyst Agus Pambagio said that the government might no longer need to issue circulars, saying that they had the potential to violate higher-level laws and policies. He also highlighted West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi’s decision to ban overdimension, overloading (ODOL) trucks in the province. Agus said this circular, despite its good intentions, could cause drivers to lose jobs. Truck companies also had to procure new trucks that meet the standards, which would require significant capital.
“The circular on the ODOL mineral water truck ban has good intentions, but irresponsible parties can use it for extortion or illegal ticketing. Police can’t use these circular letters to issue tickets; they must be in the form of a regional regulation,” Agus told the forum.
Agus said businesses were ready to comply with this goal as long as there are “no unclear fees”, something that needs to be addressed by the local governments. “The government must consider the impact on the local economy before issuing any circular. Companies must also comply with ODOL regulations, and local governments must also strictly enforce the regulations; everything must go hand in hand,” he said.
Likewise, Acuviarta Kartabi, an economist at Pasundan University (Unpas), said that the ODOL ban was a positive step. However, the method and timing should not be sporadic. He also nudged the government to make adjustments to the water industry, citing that the sector “contributes significantly to the economy and employs a substantial amount of people”.
Acuviarta also suspected that some revenues from large companies were not officially recorded, thus causing their contribution to appear smaller than it is.
Sonny Sulaksono, a transportation expert at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), warned the government against making circulars a routine. He also advised water companies not to comply with the circular as the document lacks a basis for coordination with city and district governments. Amidst the ODOL crisis, Sonny urged the government to work on the infrastructure, such as building direct access for logistics trucks to toll roads without using public roads, rather than simply issuing circulars. This should be a more effective way to prevent damage to public roads, according to Sonny.
Indonesia is aiming to have its roads free of ODOL vehicles by 2027. Sonny went on to say that the local government policies should follow this national roadmap, rather than creating additional regulations that would only create confusion.
Idham Arsyad, the executive director of the National Bottled Drinking Water Producers Association (Asparminas), also slammed West Java’s early ODOL ban plan. He said that such a circular would only lower the province’s standards by limiting vehicle sizes to small ones. Based on an internal survey of 25 bottled drinking water producers, the circular’s implementation will force the industry to add thousands of new vehicles.
“If implemented, there will need to be an additional 2,700 vehicles. Vendors are only able to supply 180 units a year,” Idham said.
Idham also called Bali’s ban on below-1-liter bottled water to have ignored the economic impact. Before restricting the industry, the government should improve road quality, conduct phased trials, and open dialogue with all parties.
“The implementation of the circular must not have the potential to weaken the industry. There must be outreach and education. The government is also obliged to prepare alternative infrastructure first,” Idham said.
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