Kadin’s Push to Overhaul Business Laws Aims to Shield Southeast Asia's Top Economy

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), the apex statutory body representing private enterprise across the archipelago, is lobbying parliament for legally mandated involvement over state economic policymaking and budgetary planning.

Appearing before the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VI on Wednesday, Kadin Chairman Anindya Novyan Bakrie demanded that business leaders receive formal seats during development deliberations, medium-term economic planning, and fiscal budget reviews. Flanked by Kadin Advisory Council Chairman Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Bakrie presented the private sector’s reform blueprint to modernize the 39-year-old Kadin regulatory framework.

Indonesia's private sector generates 92.5% of national economic output, yet corporate balance sheets are absorbing fierce global cross-currents, from climbing freight costs around the Strait of Hormuz to steepening US protectionist tariffs. Bridging private enterprise directly into state fiscal architecture aims to de-risk investment, protect corporate margins, and shield Southeast Asia's largest economy as policymakers target an ambitious 8% growth trajectory.

Modernizing a Cold War Statutory Framework

Bakrie urged lawmakers to fast-track revisions to Law No. 1/1987, arguing that the governing statute predates modern supply chains, digital trade platforms, and post-Suharto legal regimes like the Job Creation Law. The proposed bill seeks to automatically integrate business registration numbers (NIB) into Kadin’s operational ecosystem, connecting micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with institutional credit lines and international markets.

"Our law is now 39 years old; it was born before the digital era, before modern global supply chains, before today’s economic fragmentation, before Reformasi, and before the Job Creation Law," said Bakrie during a public hearing with the DPR Commission VI legislative working committee in Jakarta on Wednesday. "This is a historic momentum to update and refine it to achieve Golden Indonesia 2045."

The proposed legislation also advocates for sustainable funding mechanisms, streamlined commercial dispute arbitration, and expanded chamber authority to issue export documentation, including ATA Carnets and Certificates of Origin. Kadin cited Germany’s IHK-Gesetz framework and Singapore’s trade diplomacy machinery as competitive benchmarks for statutory private-sector representation.

Countering Global Trade Crosswinds

The push for legislative integration comes as domestic manufacturers confront severe external vulnerabilities, highlighted by currency depreciation and factory activity contractions. Bakrie warned lawmakers that global trade fragmentation could erase $2 trillion in worldwide output through 2027, with Indonesian exporters facing 19% tariffs from Washington on annual trade flows totaling $28 billion.

"A fragmented world economy requires a solid economy, a resilient business world, and a tough state," Bakrie stated during his presentation to parliamentary leaders at the Senayan Complex on Wednesday.

With 4 million new workers entering the domestic labor force each year and more than 70% of those positions reliant on private employers, Kadin argues that formalizing corporate policy inputs is critical to dodging the middle-income trap. Lawmakers in Commission VI confirmed that the legislative review will proceed within the 2026 National Legislation Program.