Jakarta, January 17 2024, the Monitoring Center for the Implementation of Laws (UU) Expertise Body of the Secretariat General of the DPR RI carried out a public consultation in the context of monitoring the implementation of Law No. 13 of 1998 concerning the Welfare of the Elderly. The PRAKARSA Research and policy advocacy institutions were involved as resource persons in the public consultation.
This public consultation was carried out with the aim of: firstly,, to know the effectiveness of the Elderly Welfare Law (KLU) as a legal basis in providing legal certainty for the community and to find out the impact of the implementation of the KLU Law on the community and other stakeholders; second, to determine the suitability between the implementation of the KLU Law and the objectives of establishing the KLU Law.
This public consultation began with updated information regarding the current condition of the KLU Law in the DPR RI. "This KLU Bill has been included longlist The DPR RI Prolegnas is ranked 174th out of more than 300 laws that will be discussed from 2020-2024. We need views and angle other than the KLU Law to be able to provide input to council members," Mohammad Hasyim, expert staff for Commission VIII DPR RI.
Commitment PRAKARSA as a research institution is to encourage the realization of ideas, concepts and data contained in research as input for policy formulation. Research PRAKARSA regarding the Conditions of Welfare and Protection of the Elderly in Indonesia is one of the references from the DPR RI to ask for input on PRAKARSA regarding the KLU Bill.
"There are two things that are urgent for the DPR to do immediately regarding the KLU Bill, first, namely amending Law no. 2 of 13 concerning the Welfare of the Elderly because it is no longer relevant to the current context and needs to accommodate future needs. Secondly, internalize the basic rights of the elderly into various implementing regulations at the central and regional government levels, including regional regulations and regional head regulations." said Eka Afrina, Research and Knowledge Manager of The PRAKARSA.
Darmawan Prasetya, researcher PRAKARSA also added a point regarding the relevance of adapting the Disability Law to the KLU Law. Based on research results PRAKARSA in 2020 "42% of people with disabilities in Indonesia come from the elderly group. Paradigm changes in the implementation of aging programs must also be changed which menjadi awareness. Risk aging population "It is also very possible that people will experience poverty in the future if preparations to face the demographic bonus are not immediately implemented in this KLU Bill," he said.
A gender perspective was also added by Aqila as a researcher PRAKARSA, "Multiple burdens experienced by elderly women must also appear in the KLU Bill. This is because culture In Indonesia, the burden of care in the family is largely handed over to women. This prevents women of productive age from participating in the world of work. Of course, this has implications for the low number of women who have pension security in the future. Even though the life expectancy for women is higher than for men, protection for elderly women also needs to be included in the KLU Bill."
The public consultation then closed with a session to submit research results for the elderly to the Center for Monitoring the Implementation of the Law Expertise Agency of the DPR RI Secretariat General. Furthermore PRAKARSA also views the importance of efforts to encourage the formation of a National Commission for the Elderly. PRAKARSA continues to be committed to supporting policy improvements for the realization of prosperous elderly people in Indonesia.
