In cooperation with the Government of Boyolali Regency, the Secretariat General and Registry Office of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia held a Colloquium of the Constitutional Court on the Constitutional System of the Republic of Indonesia for regional government administrators, community leaders, religious leaders and civics education teachers on Saturday, July 7, 2007. The colloquium which was enlivened by the performance of wayang purwa (traditional leather puppet show) telling the story of “Babad Wanamarta” was attended by Constitutional Court Justice Dr. Harjono, S.H., MCL.

The Regent of Boyolali Drs. Sri Mulyanto on behalf of the Regional Government of Boyolali hosting the colloquium gave his speech and expressed his gratitude for the implementation of the colloquium. According to the Regent, this activity is beneficial for the general community especially for regional government administrators to understand the 1945 which has gone through amendments and also to understand the functions and authorities of the Constitutional Court state institution.

Constitutional Court Justice Dr. Harjono, S.H., MCL as the keynote speaker in the colloquium stated that it is important for us (the community) to correctly understand the Amendment to the 1945 Constitution and the Constitutional Court. “The Constitutional Court has been established based on the mandate of the amended the 1945 Constitution particularly Article 24C in conjunction with Article 1 Paragraph (2), Article 27 and Article 28 of the Constitution,” He explained.

The 1945 Constitution has been amended four times (1999 to 2002) and such amendments must be understood as a series of amendments. Along with these amendments, the state administration system has also changed. For example, there is no more the highest state institution and high state institutions differentiation as it used to be. “All state institutions now have equal position, without the highest and high state institutions categorization any more. There is no hierarchical structure of state institutions anymore since the functions and authorities of state institutions have been functionally distributed by the 1945 Constitution,” added Harjono.

During the interactive session, colloquium participants asked many questions and gave responses. One participant, a Teacher named Srikaningsih expressed her concern that thus far the teaching of Civics Education subject (PKn) to students has faced difficulties due to the gap between the theories and the practices of state administration, and especially with the modern technology, students obtain information ahead of their teachers.

In response, Harjono explained that the Constitutional Court has now published the book Constitutional Awareness Education for Elementary and Secondary School students, which is a supplement to the subject of Civics Education (PKn) so that teachers and students are expected to understand the state administration system following the Amendment to the 1945 Constitution.

The whole colloquium program in Boyolali was finally concluded with the performance of wayang purwa in Blumbang Village, Klego District (37 Km from Boyolali city) which presented the Dalang (puppeteer) Ki Suryanto Purbacarito. As one of traditional arts, leather puppet show still won the appreciation of its fans especially the villagers. About 700 people came to enjoy the performance. During the wayang show, Constitutional Court Justice Dr. Harjono, S.H., MCL presented his opening remark and thanked the people for their support in successfully implementing the wayang performance. “This performance is expected to become not only a good show but also to guide us to a better understanding of the 1945 Constitution and the Constitutional Court,” he explained. (bw)