Borobudur Law and Society Journal

Economic globalisation has bound Indonesia to the trade rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and made business competition both unavoidable and a threat to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This study asks how business competition policy is regulated in Indonesia in that setting, whether Law No. 5 of 1999 on the Prohibition of Monopolistic Practices and Unfair Business Competition is consistent with the economic order of Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, and whether the law gives MSMEs equal opportunity to do business. It is doctrinal legal research using statutory, conceptual and case approaches, based on legislation, a WTO panel report, Constitutional Court decisions and the literature. The study finds that the law is a competition law of general application: it prohibits agreements, activities and abuse of dominant position, enforced by the Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition (KPPU), and it states in Article 3(b) the aim of equal opportunity for large, medium and small businesses. Article 33, read with Constitutional Court decisions, requires a market order based on kinship and economic democracy, not a free market and not a planned economy. The law protects the process of competition, not MSMEs as such, and this study did not assess enforcement outcomes systematically. It recommends enforcement priorities on conduct that excludes small businesses, a sample-based evaluation of KPPU decisions, and clear guidance on partnership between large and small firms.