Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra giving a keynote speech at the Indonesian Association of Public Administration (IAPA) Conference 2023, Friday (10/27/2023) in Padang. Photo by MKRI.

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PADANG (MKRI) — Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK), Saldi Isra, delivered a keynote speech at the Indonesian Association of Public Administrations (IAPA) Conference 2023 with the theme “New Public Governance: Reflection on Administration Science” held by the Public Administration Department of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of Andalas University on Friday, October 27, 2023 in Andalas University convention hall, Padang, West Sumatera Province.

In his speech, Justice Saldi Isra reviewed Indonesia’s unique history. He explained why this country chose a different path from the United States or Japan. As a country formed by kingdoms, Indonesia found a unique midpoint. “Indonesia would not choose the model applied by Japan. It may be because Japan had colonized it. Some of the founding fathers refused the United States model, which they considered too liberal. So, [they] built into the constitution text a model that was considered new at the time where there was a president like in a presidential system, but not directly elected by the people; there was a supreme sovereignty holder built by the Chinese and there was no more explanation about it, unless we read the elucidation to the 1945 Constitution. They rejected the kingdom model; almost 90% of the founding fathers of our country rejected the kingdom model,” he stressed.

In his speech, Justice Saldi Isra reviewed Indonesia’s unique history. He explained why this country chose a different path from the United States or Japan. As a country formed by kingdoms, Indonesia found a unique midpoint. “Indonesia would not choose the model applied by Japan. It may be because Japan had colonized it. Some of the founding fathers refused the United States model, which they considered too liberal. So, [they] built into the constitution text a model that was considered new at the time where there was a president like in a presidential system, but not directly elected by the people; there was a supreme sovereignty holder akin to that built by the Chinese and there was no more explanation about it, unless we read the elucidation to the 1945 Constitution. They rejected the kingdom model; almost 90% of the founding fathers of our country rejected the kingdom model,” he stressed.

Justice Saldi said that constitutional amendment should be discussed seriously by experts in politics, constitutional law, and state administration. “We have not seriously discussed how to design candidates downwards because in its practice today, many political parties are in power, so the head of government becomes ineffective in carrying out government products in certain regions. This is something that must be considered, in my opinion. Moreover, in our design, the parliamentary threshold is only foe the House of Representatives and does not apply downwards. So, all parties in the regions are in higher number than in the DPR RI. Now this is what I think we should think about a little more seriously,” he said.

Considering the current political conditions in Indonesia, the challenge to fix the system has become even more urgent. The discussion on “New Public Governance” led by Justice Saldi Isra set the stage for deep thinking, inviting us to reflect on and design a more effective and responsive future of the state administration.

Author       : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Nyi Mas Laras Nur Inten Kemalasari/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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