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Chief Justice Anwar Usman receiving a plaque from the rector of Muhammadiyah University of Tangerang after signing an MoU at the university’s hall in Tangerang, Friday (4/6/2021). Photo by Humas MK/ Ilham W. M.

Friday, June 4, 2021 | 15:42 WIB

TANGERANG, Public Relations— The Constitutional Court (MK) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Muhammadiyah University of Tangerang (UMT) on Friday, June 4, 2021. Chief Justice Anwar Usman witnessed Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah and UMT Rector Ahmad Amarullah signed the MoU, which was expected to kickstart cooperation between the two institutions to improve the citizens’ understanding of constitutional rights and to improve the quality of higher education.

At the event, Chief Justice Anwar Usman delivered a keynote speech on “The Evaluation of the 2019 General Elections and the 2020 Simultaneous Regional Election.” He started off by stating that a judge has a great duty. He added that despite handing down a wrong verdict, a judge would still receive pahala (reward). “Being a judge is a way of worship,” he said to the faculty members and students of the university.

He said that a nation’s foundation is law and justice. Justice comes from a clear conscience. He said Mahatma Gandhi believed there is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. A judge who rules against their conscience will have regrets, he said. He also asserted that the constitution’s mandates are usually in line with that of any holy scriptures.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah in his presentation said that the Constitutional Court is said to be the guardian of the Constitution, democracy, the state ideology Pancasila, and the citizens’ constitutional rights. It has also been given the state authority to rule at the final level.

“In this developing, modern country, we are grateful that we have a constitutional court because all constitutional issues in the country will be resolved with its interpretations, including in relation to disputes of the results of the general elections—the presidential, legislative, and regional elections including those of the members of regency/city and provincial DPRD,” he explained.

Guntur said that in a modern state, political parties have inevitable roles and are a prerequisite for democracy. Therefore, these parties function as a means to forward the people’s aspirations and a means of political education, as well as a catalyst in promoting the people’s welfare.

He added that the people through political parties recruit national leadership with certain requirements that ensure a democratic process based on justice.

He also said that the Court’s duty is to preserve the people’s aspirations, which reflects their sovereignty. “These aspirations are the Court’s main concern,” he stressed. Therefore, the Court upholds substantive justice. When other institutions do not carry out their roles optimally, the Court has no other choice than to resolve the issues that arise.

Writer        : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 6/8/2021 13:18 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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