A Year Bakamla: How far did it go?

The Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) celebrated its first anniversary last October. Came into force in the last minute of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration after deliberated in the House of Representatives more than two years, the agency was hailed by the local maritime communities as the panacea for Indonesia’s complicated, inefficient and shipping players-burdening maritime security management.

Stipulated in Law No. 32/2014 on Maritime Affairs Bakamla is set to conduct coast guard tasks like law enforcement at sea, maritime search and rescue operations and others. President Joko Widodo thus issued Presidential Regulation No. 178/2014 to make it operational and officially introduced it in a Hari Nusantara (Archipelago Day) ceremony on Dec. 13, 2014.

After a year, how far did it go?

To be frank, Bakamla was going nowhere. Of course, we cannot judge the institution in question in that short period of time. But, there are intrinsic drawbacks in it and definitely  will hamper it to be a fully fledged organization in the years to come. First, the legal basis of the board is not a specific one. In Indonesia legal law system every law regulates a certain sector with all its ramification. For instance, Law No. 34/2004 on Armed Forces.

On the other hand, Bakamla legal foundation is outside the remit of the criteria. Instead, as indicated by its designation (maritime affairs), it is too generic containing basic principles, values and norms in exploiting the country’s maritime wealth. Within the context, there are provisions of the agency in relatively detailed explaination, which unfortunately, trigger other complications.

According to Soleman B. Ponto, former Head of Armed Forces Strategic Intelligence Board (Bais), the complications include unclear chain of command. The retired vice admiral cited Chapter 60, Law No. 32/2014 as the cause. It mentions that “The Maritime Security Board is under and responsible directly to the President through its coordinating minister.”

Meanwhile, referring to Chapter 2, Presidential Regulation No. 178/2014 “Bakamla is responsible to the President through the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister.” The first lacks of clarity of the coordinating authority and the later is based on inappropriate regulation, said Mr. Ponto.

The conclusions leads to Bakamla’s second disadvantage. Unlike other government agencies where their existence based on Law and Government Regulation (PP), Bakamla is based only on Law and Presidential Regulation or Perpres; no PP at all. In Indonesia legal law hierarchy Perpres is below PP. This void consequently makes all the top brass of Bakamla only as acting officials.

Sources said a PP is being prepared by the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister since last year. However, it is not yet coming into force until now. It seems that the PP will not exist due to conflicting interest within local maritime security community like the Navy, the National Police, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, the Transportation Ministry and the Finance Ministry (customs department). These agencies consider that Bakamla’s mission overlaps with theirs.

Facing problems from all directions does not drop the intention of the agency in question to seek more stable ground for its life. Recently, under the auspices of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry, Bakamla organized a focus group discussion to discuss its plan to draft Law on Bakamla. And, again, the maritime security stakeholders reject it.

The agency is indeed very active in seeking its existence and acknowledgement from the existing fellows since its establishment in 1970s. Its nomenclature at that time was the Maritime Security Coordinating Board (Bakorkamla) that had no assets and manned only by limited personel from the ministries, the office of attorney general and other government bodies it supposed to coordinate.

In 2005, Bakorkamla was reinforced by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and it started to procure patrol vessels and established sattelite ground stations across the nation as well as intensively recruited new staffs from the universities and academies. By the enactment of Law No. 17/2008 on Shipping it had chance to become one of the constituent elements in the establishment of the Indonesian coast guard along with the Transportation Ministry’s coast guard department.

In the last preparatory process to establish the Indonesian coast guard, the ministry finally dropped the role of Bakorkamla. There is no current development on this matters available from the Transportation Ministry. But, one thing is clear: the Indonesian coast guard as mandated by Law No.17/2008 is no longer executable for one of its founding element already transformed to new entity.

Bakamla’s vulnerable existence problems trigger a big question: should it be maintained? There is a dillema. If we keep it running, we know that it will not be worth much. Within a year it makes our sea more crowded with their patrol boats. As an agency with the tasks, among other thing, of synergizing and monitoring maritime patrol by the related government agencies (Chapter 62, Law No. 32/2014) Bakamla does not need any single boat. The fact that it has boats is completely the waste of state money.

To dismiss it will be against the law. But, the government already breaches many laws. So, one more is acceptable. Additionally, this option is parallel with President Joko Widodo’s plan to streamline many government agencies that were set up after the Reform in order to save the government expenditures.

Diterbitkan dalam INDONESIA SHIPPING GAZETTE, 7 Desember 2015