Abstraksi
Indonesia's participation in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is welcomed with both excitements and worries from the government as well as domestic businesspeople. The enthusiasms come from the ease to penetrate Southeast Asia market, whereas the concerns come from thought that local goods will be outcompeted by foreign products. This article discusses how Indonesia can make full use of its potential and use the correct policy and legal instruments to become superior in the ASEAN market. The first chapter will briefly introduce the AEC, its free trade concept, and highlights its main conditions that are important for Indonesia and other participants. The second chapter will emphasise on how Indonesian laws and regulations play an essential role to attract, or in many cases they instead discourage, foreign investors. The discussion in this chapter will also touch upon the investment law and its negative list (Daftar Negatif Investasi-DNI), the economic stimulus packages, corporate law, bankruptcy and suspension of debt payment law, and labor law. The third part will look on how Indonesian courts, including the Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi-MK), set precedents and shape Indonesian law. It will further look at how some of the court judgments may have discouraged foreign investors from entering Indonesian market thus hinder potential demand for employment in the country. The fourth chapter will stress that import and export are equally important, and Indonesia should maximising its import only in commodities that become its comparative advantage in AEC market. It will elaborate on how focusing on certain goods will help Indonesia makes the most productive of its workforce, especially in attempts to welcome its demographic bonus in 2030. It will also suggest what proper legal and policy instruments should be used to regulate the matter. The last chapter will serve as concluded remarks and recommendations.