Constitutional Justice for 2008-2013 and 2013-2018 Maria Farida Indrati during the Q&A session at the constitution awareness program for the Indonesian Association of Persons with Disabilities (PPDI), Tuesday (10/6/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Teguh.

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Wednesday, October 6, 2021 | 19:33 WIB

BOGOR, Public Relations—The second day of the constitution awareness program for the citizens (PPHKWN) for the Indonesian Association of Persons with Disabilities (PPDI) commenced virtually at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Bogor, on Wednesday, October 6, 2021.

At the event, Constitutional Justice for 2008-2013 and 2013-2018 Maria Farida Indrati gave a presentation on “The Constitution and Constitutionalism.” She said the constitution can be interpreted as the founding of a state and the declaration of it.

“When a community that used to live without order wants to build a state, it will first form a constitution,” she said.

The constitution is a foundation to a state that is understandable for many. Its drafters, Maria said, would create an order or a set of rules that are interrelated. “The relations will make a state stand firm,” she said.

She added that a constitution is meant to facilitate state administration without conflict. “In the event that conflicts happen, there will be resolutions. It is regulated in the constitution. All state authorities must be limited and their exercise must be monitored through what is called checks and balances,” she explained.

Maria also said that in a democracy, the constitution occupies a central position because a democratic government is demanded to exercise its power within the limits set in the constitution.

“So, in the event that institutions or citizens exceed what is regulated by the constitution, they will get punishments. However, these punishments will not be formulated in the constitution because the constitution is the highest basic norm in a state which regulations under it refer to,” she explained. 

Constitutional Rights

Next, law professor Judhariksawan of Hasanuddin University of Makassar gave a presentation on “The Guarantee of the Citizens’ Constitutional Rights in the 1945 Constitution.” Judha explained that the constitutional rights are a set of rights for citizens that is agreed, regulated, and guaranteed based on the constitution.

Constitutional rights in the 1945 Constitution consists of state responsibility: protecting all Indonesian people and the entire land of Indonesia and to develop the welfare of the people, the life of the nation, and participate in the world orderliness based on freedom, eternal peace and social justice (the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution). Meanwhile, despite of different races and ethnicities, citizens are equal in a state. Human rights are a set of rights attached to all human beings as God’s creatures and are a blessing that must be respected, upheld, and protected by a law-based state, the government, and all people for the human honor and dignity.

Meanwhile, constitutional law professor Ni’matul Huda of the Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) talked about “The State Administration System According to the 1945 Constitution.” He said the legal ideals of Indonesia are rooted in Pancasila, which the founding fathers established as the philosophical foundation of the basic framework and structure of the state as formulated in the 1945 Constitution.

“Pancasila is the way of life of the Indonesian people that expresses the views of the people regarding the relationship between humankind and God, among humans, as and between humankind and the universe that is based on the belief about the place of the individual in society and the universe,” he said.

He believes the legal ideals of Pancasila must reflect the goals of the state and the basic values contained in both the Preamble to and the body of the 1945 Constitution.

Also read: Chief Justice Talks Objective of Founding of State to Persons with Disabilities

The constitution awareness program for the citizens (PPHKWN) for the Indonesian Association of Persons with Disabilities (PPDI) will be taking place since Tuesday-Saturday, October 5-9, 2021. Around 100 people with disabilities throughout Indonesia attended the virtual event.

Writer           : Utami Argawati
Editor          : Nur R.
Translator     : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 10/7/2021 10:05 WIB

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

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