Chief Justice Anwar Usman giving a keynote speech at the opening of the constitution awareness program (PPHKWN) for the Association of Civic Education Lecturers and the Association of Pancasila and Civic Education Lecturers, Tuesday (10/26/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Teguh.

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Wednesday, October 27, 2021 | 08:13 WIB

JAKARTA, Public Relations—The 1998 Reform brought significant changes and vast impacts on the life of the nation and state. These major changes are not only in the top state leadership, but also in the structure and role of state institutions in Indonesia, said Chief Justice Anwar Usman virtually at the opening of the constitution awareness program for the citizens (PPHKWN) for the Association of Civic Education Lecturers and the Association of Pancasila and Civic Education Lecturers on Tuesday evening, October 26, 2021.

“The changes to the roles of state institutions were made in line with the amendment to the 1945 Constitution,” Justice Anwar said before the participants and chairmen of both associations, Amsal Sampetondok and Sarkadi, respectively.

Living Constitution

Justice Anwar said, although the amendment to the 1945 Constitution had occurred 16 years ago, as the changes it brought have been fundamental and significantly impacted the life of the nation and state, Pancasila and the Constitution must continue to be disseminated and discussed. The values of Pancasila and the Constitution also continue developing along the times, which is why the Constitution is called a living constitution.

Justice Anwar added that the amendment is an inseparable part of the 1998 Reform. Therefore, the Constitutional Court, established in 2003 as a result of the third stage of the amendment in 2001, specifically of Article 24 paragraph (2), is often referred to as the fruit of the Reform movement. It has become one of the executors of judicial power along with the Supreme Court.

The Constitutional Court’s authorities are explicitly stated in Article 24C paragraphs (1) and (2) of the 1945 Constitution: to review laws against the Constitution, to decide on disputes over the authority of state institutions whose authority is granted by the Constitution, to decide on the dissolution of political parties, to decide disputes over the results of general elections (legislative elections for DPR, DPD, DPRD, and presidential elections), to decide the House’s opinion on the alleged violation by the president and/or vice president according to the Constitution. In addition to these authorities, the Court is also obligated to resolve disputes over the results of regional head (pilkada) elections. As such, the Court is often referred as the guardian of the Constitution, the guardian of democracy, the protector of citizens’ constitutional rights.

Responsible to God

Justice Anwar reminisced about the message of the late third president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (B. J. Habibie) at an iftar event: the danger of division among the Indonesian people was due to different views of the supporters of the 2019 presidential election tickets. “The key was in the hands of Mr. Anwar and [fellow constitutional justices],” he said echoing B. J. Habibie’s message.

“[Thank God], we managed to carry out the Court’s duties and responsibilities in accordance with the mandate of the Constitution. We decided the cases and were responsible to Allah SWT, the Almighty God. This includes the Court’s authority to decide on disputes over election results,” he stressed.

Justice Anwar further said that the Court would not stop raising awareness of Pancasila and the Constitution, including to similar events as the PPHKWN. This is because many citizens and even state officials are not aware of the meaning of the Constitution and the Constitutional Court. “[God willing], events such as this will continue,” he said.

Various Challenges

Acting Head of the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center Imam Margono in his remarks thanked the participants. “Due to the pandemic, the participants attended this event virtually. [I’d] like to thank [you] for participating. [I’d] also like to thank His Excellency Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court who attended this opening ceremony despite his busy schedule,” he said.

Imam said as a judicial body formed during the Reform, the Court has faced challenges and problems in its journey. It will continue organizing PPHKWN events for all elements of the community.

In order to improve public access to justice and the judiciary, he said, the Court through the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center organize various activities that involve various elements of the community, such as advocates, political parties, CSOs, customary law communities, lecturers, and university students.

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

Translation uploaded on 10/28/2021 12:05 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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