The Constitutional Court conducted a trial on Act No. 31 Year 2007 on the forming of Tual City in Maluku Province (Act on Tual City) towards the 1945 Constitution, Wednesday (20/2), at the Plenary Court Room of the Constitutional Court. The trial was scheduled to hear information from the House of Representatives, Regional Representative Board (DPD), The Government, Witnesses and Experts, from both Petitioners’ side and the Government side.

The case No. 31/PUU-V/2007 was filed by three Principal Petitioners, Abdul Hamid Rahayaan, Gasim Renuat, and Abdul Gani Refra on behalf of Customary Peole Union (Rat/Orangkay) Kei (Nuhu Evav). Through their legal counsel, H. Supriyanto Refa, S.H., M.H., the Petitioners considered that the Act on Tual City both formally and materially violated Article 18 Paragraph (1), Article 18B Paragraph (2), Article 20 Paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution. The Petitioners felt that the existence of Act on Tual City had also caused some loss on the Petitioners’ constitutional rights, because the drafting of the Act did not fulfill the stipulation in Article 18 Paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution and Act No. 32 Year 2004 on Regional Government (UU Pemda).

At the beginning of the trial, Tarmidzi, Expert Staff of the Minister of Home Affairs as a representative from the Government said that, basically the drafting of the Act on Tual City had been according to the stages and the procedures also the existing legislation. According to Tarmidzi, the forming process of the Act on Tual City was started by absorbing people’s aspiration. He also guaranteed that in the forming of the Act, there was no collutive and corruption matters. “This can be proven by no reports from the people or other parties, in this matter the one that we consider formal was the authorised body (Police) and the Corruption Eradication Commission” he said convincingly.

Tarmidzi also added that the forming of Tual City was actually aimed at improvingt public services which at the end could also realise people’s welfare. According to Tarmidzi, the forming of Tual City could also improve political facilities in local area. He denied the Petitioners’ fear that worried because of the expansion could give an impact to the existing Customary Law. “On contrary, the effectivity of the development mission (on Tual City) will strengthen the vision and mission of the Customary Law Community,” he denied.

Speaking in the same tone as Tarmidzi, The Parliament’s Legal Counsel, H. Fahruddin, also said that the forming of Tual City had also met the requirements and had been processed according to the existing legislation. He pointed out that Act No. 31 Year 2007 on the forming of Tual City procedurally was according to the procedures that were based on the existing legal rules. In the forming of the City, the Parliament had received many aspiration, among others from Commission A of Maluku Provincial Parliament, the people in Southeast Maluku, People’s figures in Southeast Maluku, NGOs in Southeast Maluku, Kings and Leaders in Southeast Maluku Regency, Political Parties Alliance in Southeast Maluku and Committee for Fighting for The Formation of Tual City. “In conclusion, in the process of forming Tual City there is absolutely no violation on the existing Act like what the Petitioners claimed,” said the member of Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives.

Meanwhile Kafrawi Rahim, a member of Regional Representative Board from Maluku Province said, the three Petitioners filing the case did not have the constitutional rights or authorities so that the Petitioners were not the parties getting some loss by the existence of Act No. 31 Year 2007. “So they don’t have a legal standing,” he said.

In the trial the information from witnesses was also heard. One of the witnesses from the Regional Parliament of Southeast Maluku Regency, H. Moh. Taher who is also a Customary King of Tual said that he supported the expansion idea. He considered that the expansion would give positive impacts on the improvement of people welfare. He also considered that the expansion of Tual City was not an expansion of traditions, but area expansion that still upheld the existing traditional values.

Meanwhile M. Sayuti Rahawarin, an experts proposed by the Regional Parliament of Southeast Maluku also questioned the legal standing of the Petitioners that spoke on behalf of customary law community. Sayuti considered the Petitioners was only common people, so that they did not have the ulayat (traditional-ed.) rights to questioned the forming of Tual City.

Nasir Leisubun, a witness from the Petitioners, in fact said the opposite idea. Nasir, a Village Head who is also a king said that by the existence of Act on Tual City had given negative impacts on the people. He argued that the expansion of Tual City had resulted in the separation and division of Southeast Maluku some area of which were in the territory of North Maluku had effected the tradition of the local people.

The Opinion was supported by Prof. Dr. Ronald Zelfianus Titahelu, S.H., M.S. an Expert from the Petitioners who explained that the forming of Tual City would give impacts on the division of Southeast Maluku Regency into two parts, that potentially to form another customary law community. That thing, according to him could cause the center of the original area of the customary law lose the customary law community because the expansion would create a change in the border of the customary law region.

In the trial that lasted for almost 7 hours, the Head of Constitution Justice Board directly chaired by the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court , Jimly Asshiddiqie, expected that each party either from the Petitioners side or the Government could be wise in seeing the case. “Whatever the result is, rejected or accepted, can be used as a constitutional material to settle the case correctly (if there is an unsatisfied party),” he said before closing the trial. (Andhini Sayu Fauzia / Yogi Djatnika)