Indonesia will issue an emergency decree today empowering authorities to take preventive measures against terrorist attacks following the devastating bomb attack in Bali.
Mr Ade Komaruddin of the Golkar party said the government had consulted legislators and parliament would not oppose such powers in the absence of an anti-terrorism law.
"We are facing an emergency situation and we have to save this nation. The government is now facing difficulty in taking preemptive measures for a lack of legal basis," Mr Komaruddin said. He added that the decree would be temporary.
He said the government had asked parliament to support the proposed decree even though it did not require the legislature's approval.
The government earlier this month said a separate anti-terrorism bill was almost completed and would soon be submitted to parliament for discussion.
Indonesia has been under international pressure to crack down on terrorists after at least 183 people were killed and more than 300 injured in a car bomb explosion at Bali's Kuta district on Saturday night. Most of the dead are foreign tourists.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack but Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group is the primary suspect.
AFP