Thursday, April 22, 2021 | 11:33 WIB
Chief Justice Anwar Usman delivering a keynote speech at the National Conference on Law Studies 2021 organized by the Law Faculty of UPN Veteran Jakarta, Thursday (22/4/2021) virtually from the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.
JAKARTA, Public Relations—The amendment to the 1945 Constitution in 1999-2002 was the right foundation for building Indonesian civilization and state administration towards a constitutional legal state. The Constitution as the supreme law of the land must be the foundation and guidance for all elements of the state in running the state.
“There should not be any reason for obeying the constitution. If the constitution is not obeyed, the foundation of the state will be fragile, given that the constitution is the supreme law of the land. On the other hand, if the constitution has a firm grip on the state administration, the state’s foundation will be firm,” said Chief Justice Anwar Usman as keynote speaker at the National Conference on Law Studies 2021 organized by the Law Faculty of UPN Veteran Jakarta virtually on Thursday, April 22, 2021.
He quoted German jurist Otto Kirchheimer that the success of a revolution or a change in society cannot be separated from the constitution. The revolution or change in society is related to efforts to build a civilization and state administration. Without a constitution, it is impossible for a civilization and governance to be realized, because it is the rule of the game for state administration.
“In today’s context of global COVID-19 pandemic, the constitution as a basic law must remain the guideline for every state administrator. In fact, in the midst of the pandemic, the attention and intention of state administrators in upholding the constitution as the basic law must be improved because [now] the people need protection from state administrators so that the outbreak does not cause greater casualties and losses,” he said in his speech on “Building a Legal System during the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
Protection of Citizens’ Constitutional Rights
Justice Anwar added that one of a constitution’s main concern is the protection of the constitutional rights of citizens. During this pandemic, the citizens’ constitutional rights must be protected by the main and first component of this protection—state administrators.
“This is clearly stated in the fourth paragraph of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia concerning the ideals and objectives of the establishment of a state government, namely to protect the entire nation and homeland of Indonesia. That is, there is no other interpretation of the purpose of establishing the government of a country other than to protect all citizens under any circumstances and against anyone who can harm their constitutional rights,” he stressed before UPN Veteran Jakarta Rector Erna Hernawati and her faculty and other participants.
Justice Anwar said that recently salus populi suprema lex esto (“the welfare of the people should be the supreme law”) has gained more popularity. It is in line with and has become the goal of the establishment of the state government. However, he added, the COVID-19 pandemic is not an easy problem that has small impacts. It has broad impacts on various aspects of life.
“Even in normal circumstances, without a pandemic, state health insurance is very complex and intricate. Even in the United States, a superpower, when the Obama administration was discussing the Obamacare health insurance program, it became a huge controversy. The controversy was more likely on the huge use of the state budget if every citizen’s health insurance must be borne by the state,” he said.
Simultaneous Regional Election
Justice Anwar said COVID-19 has affected political, economic, legal, and social aspects of life as well as national security and defense, knowledge and technology, and more.
“Therefore, on this occasion, following the Court’s authority as the guardian of democracy, and the factual conditions. So, one of the relevant examples to explain at the moment is the simultaneous regional election that just finished a while ago,” he added. Justice Anwar said the Government and the House (DPR) had decided to go ahead with the 2020 regional election under strict adherence to the health protocol.
“There were a lot of adjustments at each stage, including the settlement of disputes in the Constitutional Court. The adjustments to the election and the settlement of its disputes weren’t easy, but weren’t impossible. Alhamdulillah (thank God), we have passed all of it,” he said.
Justice Anwar revealed that over 50 countries conducted elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some to great success, for example South Korea, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka.
“Although comparing those countries and ours isn’t apple-to-apple, because of different geographical conditions, number of population and voters, and so on, I wanted to stay optimistic and urge all of us to do our best for the country so that the 2020 simultaneous election be successful,” he said.
He believes people must make choices, albeit hard. As a muslim, he believes and adheres to God’s word in Surah Al-Baqarah verse 286: “Allah does not burden a soul but to the extent of their ability. They will be rewarded for their good deeds and receive retribution for their wrongdoings.”
He believes that the Court’s duty is to sincerely make efforts to fulfill the constitutional rights of all citizens, although there is no perfect choice to be made.
“On this occasion, allow me to urge all of us to do our roles to contribute to uphold the law and the Constitution, and to work together in overcoming the increasingly complex problems of the nation. Without the citizens’ togetherness, it is impossible to fulfill the citizens’ constitutional rights and uphold the law. The words of the Constitution would only be beautiful on paper without mutual efforts to realize them,” he stressed.
Writer: Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor: Nur R.
Translator: Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 4/23/2021 21:35 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.
Thursday, April 22, 2021 | 11:33 WIB 297