The Petitioners and his legal counsel during the Preliminary Hearing for Case Number 61/PUU-XXIII/2025 Material Testing of Law Number 4 of 2023 concerning the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector, Thursday (15/5/2025). Photo by PR/Bay

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JAKARTA (MKRI) – PT Telekomunikasi Employees Union (SEKAR TELKOM) has filed a petition for judicial review of Article 161 paragraph (2), Article 162 paragraph (4), and Article 164 paragraph (1) letter b of Law Number 4 of 2023 concerning the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector (P2SK Law) to the Constitutional Court (MK). According to the Petitioners, the norms being tested are in conflict with Article 28D paragraph (1), Article 28H paragraph (4), Article 28I paragraph (2), and Article 33 paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD NRI).

The Petitioners said that the norms being tested closed the potential for participants or parties entitled to receive payment of pension benefits in one lump sum in the Defined Contribution Pension program. In fact, the requirement for payment of pension benefits is carried out periodically so that the Petitioners are disadvantaged because they are hampered in obtaining his rights.

"The P2SK Law, which requires pension benefits to be paid periodically, is certainly a discriminatory phrase because pension benefits are the rights of participants that have been contributed by participants since the participants became employees of a company," said Sudaryat as the legal counsel in the preliminary hearing on Thursday (15/5/2025) in the Constitutional Court Courtroom, Jakarta.

Article 161 paragraph (2) of the P2SK Law, the norm said "Payment of Pension Benefits for Participants, Widows/Widowers, or Children must be made periodically." Article 162 paragraph (4) of the P2SK Law reads "Pension Funds that organize Defined Contribution Pension Programs, Pension Benefits for Participants, Widows/Widowers, or Children are paid periodically for a certain period." Article 164 paragraph 1 letter b reads "Pension Benefits for Participants or Entitled Parties can be paid in one lump sum with the following provisions: b. the amount of Pension Benefits is less than a certain amount determined by the Financial Services Authority."

SEKAR TELKOM was represented by Iwan Agus Sugiarto and Sarwono, respectively in their positions as Chairman and Secretary General of the Central Executive Board of the PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia Employees Union. According to the Petitioners, the payment of pension benefits to participants or their heirs should be given the freedom to participants to choose whether to take the pension benefits periodically or all at once.

In their petitum, the Petitioners requested the Court to declare the provisions of Article 161 paragraph (2) of Law 4/2023 to be contrary to the 1945 Constitution and not legally binding insofar as it is not interpreted as "Payment of Pension Benefits for Participants, Widows/Widowers, or Children can be made periodically or at once according to the agreement of the Participant, Widow/Widower, guardian of the child, or the entitled party." Declare the provisions of Article 162 paragraph (4) of Law 4/2023 to be contrary to the 1945 Constitution and not legally binding insofar as it is not interpreted as "Pension Funds that organize Defined Contribution Pension Programs, Pension Benefits for Participants, Widows/Widowers, or Children are paid in one lump sum or periodically for a certain period according to the agreement of the Participant, Widow/Widower, guardian of the child, or the entitled party." Declaring that the provisions of Article 164 paragraph (1) letter b of Law 4/2023 are contrary to the 1945 Constitution and must be interpreted as "binding according to the agreement of Participants, Widows/Widowers, guardians of children, or entitled parties without being determined based on the value of their Pension Benefits."

This case was heard by a Panel of Justices led by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat accompanied by Constitutional Justice Anwar Usman and Enny Nurbaningsih. In the advisory session, Enny said the Petitioners could revise the petition starting from the Petitioners' identity, the authority of the Court, legal standing, posita, and petitum by using the previous Constitutional Court decision as a reference.

"You shall explained whether it is true that there is an assumption that constitutional rights are being lost due to the implementation of this norm," said Enny.

Meanwhile, Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat requested that the Petitioners improve his legal standing in accordance with SEKAR TELKOM's Articles of Association/Bylaws. "Legal standing concerns the description of the legal subject, whether the private legal subject is truly harmed by this article," suggested Arief. Before sum up the hearing, Arief said the Petitioners had 14 days to improve their petition and files must be received by the Court no later than Wednesday, May 28, 2025. 

Author: Mimi Kartika
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR: Fauzan Febriyan

Translator : Sherly Octaviana/Yuanna Sisilia

Disclaimer: The original version of this news article is in Indonesian. In case of discrepancies, the Indonesian version shall prevail.

 

 

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