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Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra delivering a general lecture to the Law Faculty of Andalas University (Unand), Friday (3/9) from the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Gani.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra delivered a general lecture virtually to motivate the freshmen of the Law Faculty of Andalas University (Unand) on Friday, September 4, 2020. The lecture was also intended for law students in higher education throughout the country and those aspiring to work in law.

Justice Saldi started his lecture by revealing his experience graduating from the physics major of his senior high school. He then took an entrance test to the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) but failed, and passed an entrance test to the Law Faculty of Unand. “I was stranded in the Law Faculty, which I hadn’t expected. If you’re now enrolled in the law faculty, which you’d never expected, don’t undervalue God’s fate, because behind that there must be a reason,” he said. He revealed that some friends scoffed at his choice of major as it wasn’t a favorite at the time.

“Enrolling in the law faculty was far different from the physics major in high school, [where I] learned formulas, and so on. Crunching numbers was a daily activity. Meanwhile, in the law faculty, I had to [read] books, [make] a lot of notes, memorize most things. I got frustrated. I hadn’t imagined such a life in university, at a place I’d never thought of before,” he recalled.

He hadn’t expected to reach a 3.71 GPA in the semester. In the second, he had a 4.00 GPA. He earned his bachelor’s degree and then pursued a master’s degree at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2001 and a doctoral degree at Gadjah Mada University in 2009.

“Only then did I think that it was God’s secret that put me in law studies,” he said. He stressed that the Law Faculty of Unand can compete with other campuses in Indonesia, as both its undergraduate and graduate programs have always received the highest accreditation level.

He added that law graduates have a competitive advantage in the job market. “If you study well, believe that the work opportunities are higher for law graduates than graduates of other faculties. Law graduates can work at the administration or legal department at hospitals, but medical graduates cannot be judges. So only law graduates can be judges, prosecutors, and advocates. Law graduates are needed in the legal department in companies,” he explained.

Justice Saldi advised law students to be more active in their studies, read more textbooks, and write. He also encouraged them to visit his library. He then expressed his concerns, “I’m concerned that as technology advances, students will no longer have good writing skills when they are key to success in the legal professions.” He also stressed the importance of public speaking skills and encouraged the students to use the opportunities to speak in their classrooms as a springboard. He added that such skills are imperative for advocates. He concluded his lecture by advising the students to improve their proficiency in English, which will provide them with more work opportunities.

Writer: Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor: Nur R.
Photographer: Gani
Translator: Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 9/7/2020 10:23 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian version, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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