November 6, 2025 | 01:06 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Minister of Human Rights Natalius Pigai denies that the revision to Human Rights Law No. 39 of 1999 intends to weaken Komnas HAM, an independent human rights commission in Indonesia. Instead, he claims, it will strengthen the commission's authority.
"We cannot wither Komnas HAM, which has been quite weak already," he told Tempo on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
Pigai served as Komnas HAM commissioner from 2012 to 2017, before joining Prabowo's government. He insisted that the Human Rights Law revision will strengthen the authority that the commission previously did not have.
The human rights commission, Pigai claims, will be authorized to provide services, to monitor, investigate, prosecute, to summon, bring charges, and give considerations in court.
"Is that not enough? The important thing is integrity, morals, and a good and prepared mentality," Pigai said, adding that he hopes the revision process could proceed smoothly.
Komnas HAM Denies Pigai's Claims
The Chair of Komnas HAM, Anis Hidayah, denies all claims made by Natalius Pigai. "It is not true, (additional authorities) are not included in the draft law revision," said Anis when confirmed by Tempo on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
According to Anis, Komnas HAM's authority in the draft law is reduced, including the human rights assessment authority, which is now limited to analyzing international human rights regulations and conditions.
In addition, Komnas HAM's authority to perform monitoring functions is now also limited. "Monitoring can be carried out if referred by the Ministry of Human Rights and if there is evidence of criminal elements, as stated in article 85 (Human Rights Bill)," said Anis.
The commissioner believes that the revision of the Human Rights Law has the potential to weaken the position of his institution. "This can be interpreted as an attempt to eliminate the existence of Komnas HAM from the national human rights institution," he said.
Andi Adam and Vedro Imanuel contributed to the writing of this article.
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