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Thursday, April 29, 2021 | 06:47 WIB

JAKARTA, Public Relations—The Constitutional Court (MK) held a preliminary hearing of Law No. 6 of 2018 on Health Quarantine on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The case No. 14/PUU-XIX/2021 was filed by Rowindo Hatorangan Tambunan, who attended the hearing virtually. He challenged the material substance of Article 10 paragraph (1) of the Health Quarantine Law, which stipulates that the central government may declare and revoke the public health emergency status.

“The a quo article has harmed my constitutional rights as a citizen due to the enactment of large-scale social restrictions in the Jakarta Special Capital Region on April 10, 2020,” Tambunan said before the panel chaired by Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra.

On April 9, 2020, the Jakarta Governor issued the Decree No. 380 of 2020 on the Enactment of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) to Manage the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Jakarta Special Capital Region. It restricted the Petitioner’s daily activities because his place of business closed. He was unable to perform worship for the same reason, nor could he send his nephew/niece to school.

In the petition, the Petitioner claims that the COVID-19 pandemic has harmed him, his family, and the general public. The Government and national mainstream media, he says, haven’t been immune to COVID-19-related misinformation and disinformation.

The Government’s policies, made out of panic due to misinformation and disinformation, led to decisions to push for PSBB (lockdown). The Petitioner believes that had the public health emergency status been declared with the people’s sovereignty in mind, it wouldn’t have resulted in the Petitioner’s constitutional loss.

Justices’ Advice 

Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra said that the background to the petition was too long. “The most important thing to explain is why Article 10 paragraph (1) of Law No. 6 of 2018 is in violation of the 1945 Constitution,” he said.

Similarly, Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo advised the Petitioner to shorten the redundant background to the petition. “What is it that you question? Is it the content of the article or the emergency status through the Government’s declaration of PSBB in Jakarta?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul deemed the Petitioner’s demand vague. He couldn’t see the correlation between what the Petitioner questions and the norm being petitioned. On one hand, he questions the norm, which is under the central government’s jurisdiction. On the other hand, the Petitioner wishes that the public emergency status due to COVID-19 be declared based on the people’s sovereignty. Justice Manahan also asked the Petitioner to elaborate on his constitutional loss.

Writer        : Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor        : Nur R.
PR            : Lambang T. S.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 4/29/2021 13:59 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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