Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih chairing the panel preliminary hearing of the judicial review of Law No. 17 of 2022 on West Sumatera Province, Wednesday (10/12/2022). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 | 16:49 WIB
JAKARTA (MKRI)—The characteristics of the customs and culture of Mentawai Regency and 11 other regencies in West Sumatera, which greatly reflects Islamic law, are not accommodated, argued Dedi Juliasman, Wahyu Setiadi, Dicky Christopher, and Basilius Naijiu (Petitioners I-IV) in petition No. 97/PUU-XX/2022 at the preliminary hearing of the judicial review of Law No. 17 of 2022 on West Sumatera Province on Wednesday, October 12, 2022. They argued that Article 5 letter c of the West Sumatera Law contradicts Article 18B paragraph (2), Article 28D paragraph (1), Article 28E paragraph (2), Article 28I paragraphs (2) and (3), and Article 29 paragraph (2) 1945 Constitution.
Article 5 letter c of the West Sumatera Law reads, “Minangkabau customs and culture are based on philosophical customary value of basandi syara’, syara’ basandi kitabullah in accordance with the applicable customary law rules of salingka nagari, as well as a wealth of history, language, art, customary law village/nagari, rituals, traditional ceremonies, cultural sites, and local wisdom that show the religious character and the height of the customs of the people of West Sumatera.”
The Petitioners’ legal counsel Periati Br. Ginting explained virtually that the value of the philosophy of ‘basandi syara’, syara’ basandi kitabullah’ adopted by the Minangkabau ethnic community does not apply absolutely and does not become a philosophy of life for the Mentawai people. Whereas in West Sumatera, two ethnic groups inhabiting the area have different characteristics. Mentawai people are Christians and Catholics, use the Mentawai language daily, and follows a patrilineal descent system.
Ginting also revealed the hegemony of Minangkabau culture over Mentawai culture had existed for a long time, such as over the re-naming of the smallest territorial unit in Mentawai known as ‘laggai’ in the to ‘nagari’ following the West Sumatera custom. In addition, the Mentawai community also experience cultural discrimination, such as stigma about Mentawai women, transmigration of single people of Mentawai, and mandatory headscarves for non-Muslim students in primary to secondary schools.
“Law No. 17 of 2022 on West Sumatera Province has not accommodated and acknowledged Mentawai customs as a characteristic of the Mentawai ethnic community. This law only accommodates the characteristics of Minangkabau cultural customs whereas in this province there are two ethnic communities who are not immigrants. These two ethnic groups are indigenous peoples who have inhabited the geographical and administrative areas of West Sumatera for a long time,” she said.
Formal and Material Review
Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul advised the Petitioners to complete the petition with the latest Constitutional Court Law. He also suggested that they explain the special terms that exist in the Mentawai culture to support the argument for their legal standing. He also suggested that they separate the arguments for the formal and material judicial review.
“Also examine more carefully the 45-day [deadline] since the law was enacted on July 25, 2022. This petition was registered in the Constitutional Court on September 8, 2022,” he added.
Meanwhile, Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh advised that the Petitioners, who are not a legal entity, clarify their representation in and out of court in order to support their legal standing, and explain their constitutional impairment. He added that they can clarify the sociological and juridical aspects of the enactment of the West Sumatera Law that could potentially harm their constitutional rights.
“The petition mentions a number of regencies and cities. Does the petition represent Mentawai Regency and what is experienced in Mentawai, or also in other areas? There could be concern about discrimination,” he said.
Next, Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih asked the Petitioners to clarify whether they would challenge the Law formally or materially or both. She stressed that a formal judicial review petition should be lodged within 45 days since the promulgation of the Law, otherwise it would be declared NO (niet ontvankelijke verklaard) or inadmissible due to formal defects. Meanwhile, a material one can be filed any time.
“Therefore, please pay attention to the deadline. We will complete the formal review first because it is time-restricted. If we separate the two, it will be even better,” she explained.
Before concluding the session, Justice Enny informed the Petitioners that they had 14 workdays to revise the petition and submitted it no later than Tuesday, October 25 at 14:00 WIB to the Registrar’s Office.
Writer : Sri Pujianti
Editor : Nur R.
PR : Fitri Yuliana
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 10/18/2022 11:49 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.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 | 16:49 WIB 198