Secretary General M. Guntur Hamzah with Head of Public Relations and Protocol Department Rubiyo and Constitutional Court spokesperson Fajar Laksono in a conference press in front of the Courtroom of the Constitutional Court on Tuesday (31/7). Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

The Constitutional Court held a press conference on in response to statement by Oesman Sapta Odang in a talk show on a private TV station on Tuesday (31/7/2018). “The Issue of Ban on Political Party-Functionary DPD Candidates.” In the press conference, Secretary General M. Guntur Hamzah with Head of Public Relations and Protocol Department Rubiyo and Constitutional Court spokesperson Fajar Laksono stated that the Court had sent an objection letter to Oesman Sapta Odang on July 31, 2018 in relation to his negative statement about the Court as an institution, the constitutional justices, and the Court’s decisions.

“This measure was taken after listening to the whole program during the justice deliberation meeting (RPH) on Monday, July 30, 2018. The Court concluded that the statement by Dr. (H.C) Oesman Sapta Odang can be categorized as an action that demeans the honor, dignity, and authority of the Constitutional Court and constitutional justices,” Guntur asserted.

Guntur also elaborated on the Case No. 30/PUU-XVI/2018 as subject of the talk show. The case was registered on April 9, 2018 and the panel of justices held the preliminary hearing on April 16. On April 19, the Petitioner submitted the petition revision, which was discussed on a hearing on April 30. On May 24, the Court heard the statements of the Government and the House. On June 28, the Court held a plenary hearing to hear an expert for the Petitioner, but only a written statement was submitted, and the Petitioner requested that the expert be presented in the next hearing. In response, the Court held a plenary hearing on July 10 and reminded the litigants to submit a concluding statement by July 18.

“On July 23, 2018, the Court held a plenary ruling hearing. In the hearing, the Petitioner, the Government, and the House were present. Based on the chronology of the case’s resolution, the ruling and the case resolution comply with the procedural law and the order of case examination that must be undergone,” Guntur explained to the press. Guntur also said that throughout the proceedings for the case, no party had volunteered a statement ad informandum.

He stressed that every petition that the Court received is announced and uploaded on the Court’s website since the issuance of the Deed of Reception of Petitioner’s Petition Document. The Court then re-announced and re-uploaded the petition document, which has received a registration number.

“Therefore, there is no reason for anyone not to be informed of the case in question, and/or to accuse the Constitutional Court of deciding a case secretly. In addition, every hearing at the Constitutional Court, except the justice deliberation meeting, is always open for public and can be viewed live on the Court’s website and may be covered by the press,” Guntur said.

In response to a question about the next step that the Court would take, Guntur said that the Court would wait for a response from Oesman Sapta Odang about the objection letter. (Lulu Anjarsari/Yuniar Widiastuti)