Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto has asked protesters to direct their criticism of the controversial omnibus bill on job creation toward the House of Representatives rather than President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration.



“The House’s task is to deliberate the bill and to have public participation, which will be held during the legislative hearing. Please, go to the House for any [revisions],” Airlangga said during an interview with The Jakarta Post on Monday.



Airlangga said that almost all bills that went through the House were subject to changes, adding that the government hoped to accommodate public opinion.

“There are always multiple interpretations during a bill’s deliberation. The most important thing is to find common ground.”

The Jokowi administration submitted the highly anticipated draft to the House for deliberation on Feb. 12 after several postponements. It said it expected the House to pass the bill into law within 100 working days as the government strives to attract more investment to help boost the country’s sluggish economic growth.

Indonesia’s economy grew 5.02 percent last year, lower than the 5.17 percent growth of 2018, as investment and exports cooled. Investment – the second-largest contributor to gross domestic product (GDP) growth – expanded 4.45 percent last year, lower than the 6.67 percent growth in 2018.