South Sorong Regent, represented by legal counsel Jamses E. Sihaloho (center) and colleagues, challenging the Southwest Papua Law, Thursday (9/21/2023). Photo by MKRI/Fauzan.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — South Sorong Regent Samsudin Anggiluli filed a judicial review petition of Article 3 paragraph (1) letter a, Article 3 paragraph (2), and Appendix I letter a on Sorong Regency point 29 of Law No. 29 of 2022 on the Establishment of Southwest Papua Province to the Constitutional Court (MK). The preliminary hearing for case No. 106/PUU-XXI/2023 took place on Thursday, September 21, 2023.

Through legal counsel Jamses E. Sihaloho, the Petitioner argues that the articles are in violation of Article 28D of the 1945 Constitution for not reflecting the historical, juridical, and geographical facts. As head of the region and part of the South Sorong Regency administration, he believes his constitutional rights and authority have been harmed. Factually, the residents of Kampung Botain, the Tahit Yaben tribe, is an indigenous ethnic group of South Sorong Regency. Since 2002, South Sorong has been stated as their domicile in their identity card (KTP) and received services from the South Sorong Regency administration. Sihalolo added that they also had participated in the general and local elections in 2004–2020 through the regency’s Elections Commission (KPUD).

“Due to territorial takeover of Kampung Botain, these indigenous people of South Sorong Regency have expressed objection and rejection of their kampung’s takeover into Botain District of Sorong Regency,” said Sihalolo before Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat (panel chair), Suhartoyo, and Enny Nurbaningsih.

The Petitioner requests that the Court declare Article 3 paragraph (1) letter a, Article 3 paragraph (2), and Appendix I letter a on Sorong Regency point 29 of Law No. 29 of 2022 on the Establishment of Southwest Papua Province unconstitutional if Kampung Botain is not included in Saifi District of South Sorong Regency.

Justices’ Advice

In response, Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo said that the Petitioner must confirm his legal standing since he filed the petition on behalf of the region’s administration. He also advised the Petitioner to explain his constitutional impairment.

“Based on statutory law, who is authorized to settle this cross-regency dispute? State this as a reference in this petition,” he said.

Next, Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih asked that proof be submitted regarding the actions that had been take to resolve the issue of Kampung Botain. She also asked whether Sorong Regency has violated the principle of legal certainty.

“What is the legal argument? A legal argument must be made on the territory [of Sorong Regency] and how it is against legal certainty. The issue is in the appendix, but the Petitioner should review this petition,” she said.

Meanwhile, Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat observed the Petitioner’s legal standing and advised him to clarify the regional conflict that might have something to do with the region’s potential or resources, thus having a lot of things at stakes. He said that the Court might summon relevant parties to testify on this territorial dispute.

At the end of the hearing, Justice Arief informed the Petitioner that he had 14 workdays to revise the petition and submit it to the Registrar’s Office no later than Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at 09:00 WIB.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Nur R.
PR            : Muhammad Halim
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

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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