A press statement by the spokesperson of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) stating five constitutional judges have still not reported their assets has surprised all of us.
The obligation for officials to submit asset reports, the State Officials Wealth Report (LHKPN), is part of reform. This was stated in People\'s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Decree No. XI/MPR/1998 on state organization that is clean and free of corruption, collusion and nepotism and has been further interpreted in a number of regulations.
The spirit behind the birth of these regulations was the desire to stop corruption by state officials. Therefore, it is reasonable to see the KPK’s spokesperson, Febri Diansyah, question the commitment of the Constitutional Court to eradicate corruption. The KPK\'s indication has its sociological foundation in the fact that two Constitutional Court judges have been arrested by the KPK. Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar has been given a life sentence by the Corruption Court, while constitutional judge Patrialis Akbar is still being questioned by the KPK.
Constitutional judges are part of the group of state officials who are required to submit their wealth reports to the KPK. In the Constitution, the constitutional judges are the only state organizers to hold the status of statesmen. Not ordinary statesmen but statesmen who control the Constitution. The Constitution states: "Constitutional judges must have integrity and an honorable personality, be just and statesmen who control the Constitution and state administration."
Holding such a revered position, the remarks, behavior, loyalty to the Constitution and the nation’s laws shown by the constitutional judges should serve as good examples for other state organizers, as well as the public. The constitutional judges are also bound by the Code of Ethics and Conduct for Constitution Judges (Sapta Karsa Hutama), which was formulated by the constitutional judges on Oct. 17, 2005.
This nation needs people to serve as moral anchors for the nation. These people should have finished with their personal life and groups and be devoted to the nation as true statesmen. The Constitution bestows formal capital on the constitutional judges in their role as guardians of the Constitution and the state ideology.
With such a high position, it is deplorable that these constitutional judges are not fully performing their role and function. How can they perform their role as guardians of the Constitution if they themselves ignore the legislative requirement to submit a wealth report? The constitutional judges should provide an example and be role models for the nation.
