Prof. Dr. Saldi Isra, 49, has been appointed by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as a constitutional judge, replacing Patrialis Akbar who was recently fired.
Saldi was chosen from three constitutional judge candidates proposed by a selection team. Information about the appointment of Saldi from the Palace was little. State Secretary Pratikno only answered "yes" when he was asked about whether President Jokowi appointed Saldi as a constitutional judge. The Palace did not explain when the presidential decree was signed, which was similar to the information from Presidential spokesman Johan Budi SP. Poor information seems to the hallmark of the administration of President Jokowi.
Information regarding the appointment of Saldi should be better. The Palace should provide insight about the institutional crisis in the Constitutional Court (MK) to the public.
The Palace should also disclose its expectations as well as answer public questions about the status of Saldi as the chief commissioner in Semen Padang. Saldi assumed the position of chief commissioner of Semen Padang on May 11, 2016, when he was elected during an extraordinary meeting of shareholders.
Expectations of Saldi as a constitutional judge are very high. Saldi is only one of the nine constitution judges and the Secretariat General of the Constitutional Court, which has many employees.
Even though only one of the nine constitutional judges, as an expert in constitutional law, Saldi is expected to be able to give new energy and form a new habitus in the environment of the Constitutional Court. Saldi is expected to be able to remind the team of Saptakarsa Hutama, the code of conduct of the constitutional judges. Warnings on the dangers of corruption at the Constitutional Court have to be revived so that the case of Patrialis Akbar will not repeat itself.
Restoring the image of the Constitutional Court, which collapsed after the arrest of two constitutional judges, Akil Mochtar and Patrialis Akbar, by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the theft of documents of regional election cases by employees of the Constitutional Court, has to be answered by the Constitutional Court\'s verdict, which addresses the needs of the public. The Constitutional Court\'s verdict firmly holds on to the Constitution and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. The Constitutional Court has to establish itself not only as the guardian of the Constitution, but also as the guardian of state ideology.
