section_path: History/Indonesian National Armed Forces Law of 2004 (Law No. 34 of 2004)/Formulation and submission
section_name: Formulation and submission
paragraph_text: Formulation and submission
  
  The draft bill began to be formulated shortly after the national defense bill was enacted into law. After the armed forces finished drafting the bill, the bill was scrutinized by the defense department's legal bureau and was examined by other departments. During the course of the scrutiny process, there were several articles that became a subject of focus, such as article 19 regarding the deployment of armed forces in the time of emergency, which did not require the consent of the president. The bill faced protests from various groups such as Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, the Union of Indonesian Nationalist Students, the People's Democratic Party, and a coalition of 31 non-governmental organizations, due to it being perceived as an attempt to return to the old dwifungsi doctrine. Defence analyst Philips Jusario Vermonte stated that the bill reflected the "failure of control over the military", while Bambang Wisudo, writing for Kompas, described the bill as "contradictory to the will to create a reliable defense force under the control of democratic civilian authorities". Due to this controversy, various non-governmental organizations which were initially involved in the discussion of the bill were left out by the government. A working group established by the Department of Defense to discuss the law in 2002 became dormant around the same time.
  
  In the midst of the election silence prior to the 2004 Indonesian presidential election, on 30 June 2004 President Megawati Sukarnoputri submitted the bill to the House of Representatives, assigning the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Minister of Defense, and the Armed Forces Commander as the executive's representatives in the discussion. The involvement of a coordinating minister in the discussion of the bill was considered out of the ordinary, as usually only departmental ministers were involved in a bill. According to defense observer T. Hari Prihatono, the decision was in direct violation to the preceding national defense law, as the law mandated the discussion of the bill only to the department of defense.
  
  Other irregularities were also discovered in the submission process. The submitted bill was a result of a meeting held by the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Office on 10 June, despite the fact that the Department of Defence was the main agency involved in drafting the bill. A letter by cabinet secretary Bambang Kesowo on 2 July 2004, which instructed the three cabinet members to report all substantive changes of the bill directly to the president also seemed odd, as usually executive representatives could make decisions on substantive changes without prior consultation to the president.
  
  The submission process, as well as the bill's substance, was criticized by various parties, including the legislative. Prihartono stated that the bill was submitted during a short recess period of the house, leaving only ten days for thorough examination of the bill. MP Effendy Choirie, deputy chairman of the House of Representative's 1st commission—the Department of Defense's counterpart in the legislative body—stated that the commission had frequently demanded the executive branch to submit the bill and refused to be blamed on the long overdue. The executive, on the other hand, did not provide any clear explanation for the overdue. Defence observer Edy Prasetyono also criticized the lack of transparency and the overlapping agencies in its drafting process. Concerns regarding the hastened nature of the bill was also shared by presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
  
  Regarding the substance of the bill, Edy Prasetyono, who had been a member of the Department of Defense's working group, stated that the submitted bill was different to what has been discussed by the Department of Defense, especially regarding article two on the armed force's identity. The bill defines the armed force's identity based on historical factors, which contradicts the People's Consultative Assembly decree that defines the armed forces as a modern, professional army aligned with humanitarian law. Edy demanded the government's explanation on the draft produced by the working group and urged the House of Representatives to scrutinize the bill and involve as many non-governmental organizations as possible. Prihartono stated that the bill lacks clarity on the armed force's role in the legal system and its authority within a democratic civilian government, failed to reflect efforts to build professionalism within the armed forces, and could potentially revive the dwifungsi. The criticisms were responded harshly by the military, with army chief of staff Ryamizard Ryacudu accusing the critics of being backed by foreign interests, and armed forces commander Endriartono Sutarto urging the experts "not to fool the public".
  
  From 26 August to 29 September 2004, the house held hearings with the executive regarding the bill. The main debates surrounding the bill was regarding the territorial commands, which was a considered a remnant of the dwifungsi doctrine, and the position of the armed forces in the government hierarchy. The National Awakening Party faction submitted an alternative bill, which placed the armed forces under the Department of Defense and merged all levels of territorial commands into a single regional defence command (Indonesian: Komando Daerah Pertahanan). The bill was eventually passed as law on 30 September 2004 with minor revisions from the original coordinating minister's draft and unanimous approval from the parliament. It was the last bill passed by the 1999—2004 period of the House of Representatives before it went out of office the next day. The bill was signed into law by Megawati on 16 October 2004, four days before she was replaced by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
  
  During the course of the submission and hearings, protests in opposition of the bill erupted sporadically in various cities. In a discussion held by Nahdlatul Ulama on 23 July 2004, a coalition of non-government organizations and student organizations declared their rejection of the bill. The self-declared Alliance of Women Against the Armed Forces Bill staged a protest near the Hotel Indonesia, while separate protests were held in front of the Merdeka Palace and the parliament building. In Yogyakarta, the alliance of Yogyakarta student council, the Union of Muhammadiyah Students, and the Muslim Students' Association staged protests against the bill. Student protests were also held in Surabaya by the Suroboyo People's Action Committee and the Surabaya Labor Struggle Union, Semarang by the National Student League for Democracy, Denpasar by the Coalition of Bali Civillians, Malang by the Anti-Military Front, and Bandar Lampung.