Today, the House can also ask for police assistance to forcibly summon those who have thrice failed to fulfill the House’s summons, including using the threat of taking them hostage.
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Kompas/Alif Ichwan
Constitutional Court judge Suhartoyo, accompanied by I Gede Palguna and Saldi Isra, presides over the first trial session of the judicial review of the Legislative Body Law (MD3) at the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta on Thursday (8/3). The judicial review was requested by the Indonesian Solidarity Party’s legal and constitutional study forum (FKHK).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS —Today, the House can also ask for police assistance to forcibly summon those who have thrice failed to fulfill the House’s summons, including using the threat of taking them hostage. At the same time, the House members’ he summonses and request for information in connection with the criminal cases must now be judged by the House\'s Ethics Council (MKD).
"The existence of the provisions in the Law on Legislative Institutions as a result of its revision shows that the House is building an oligarchy. The House is reinforcing its powers, and then has built a fort so that it cannot be touched by anyone. This is a threat to democracy," the director of the Center of Constitutional Studies at the Andalas University Law School, Feri Amsari, said on Tuesday (13/3) when contacted from Jakarta.
More than 203,000 netizens had declared their rejection of the revised MD3 Law on the change.org platform by Tuesday evening.
On Feb. 21 at the Pondok Gede Haj Dormitory in Jakarta, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said that he understood the people’s concerns over the provisions in the revised MD3 Law. "Many say that here, law and ethics are mixed. There are those who say, [that] politics and law has been mixed. I read the opinions and I hear from the community. I don\'t think all of them want a decline in the quality of democracy," the President said at the time.
Validity
Until Tuesday evening, no explanation was forthcoming as to whether the President had signed or had not signed the revised MD3 Law. However, what is certain is that the House plenary session on Feb. 12 approved the revisions for passing into law.
Therefore, in accordance with Law No. 12 of 2011 on the Formulation of Laws and Regulations, the revised MD3 Law is officially applicable as of today. Article 73, Paragraph 2 of Law No. 12/2011 stipulates that if the President does not sign the draft law within 30 days of the joint approval of the House and the government, the draft law will become law and must be enacted.
Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that the President had heard the public\'s aspirations, especially their criticisms of the amended MD3 Law. However, once the regulation had been enacted, it was no longer within the government’s or legislature’s domain. "If there are still objections, people can file petitions with the Constitutional Court (MK)," he said.
House Speaker Bambang Soesatyo also invited those parties that did not agree with the revise law to submit a judicial review request with the Constitutional Court. "We submit to the Constitutional Court to decide the best, because we believe the court has been consulting with many parties. We will follow whatever decision the Constitutional Court issues," he said.
The Constitutional Court has heard a judicial review of the law that was requested by three plaintiffs, the Indonesian Solidarity Party, the Law and Constitutional Studies Forum, and individual citizens Zico Leonard Djagardo (a student at the University of Indonesia\'s Law School) and Josua Satria Collins (author on legal studies). The first session of the preliminary hearing was held last Thursday, led by Constitutional Court justice Suhartoyo.
The three plaintiffs questioned the constitutionality of Article 73, Paragraphs 3 and 4, Letters a and c; Article 122, Letter k; and Article 245, Paragraph 1.
Perppu
Ferry said the enactment of the revisions of the MD3 Law would be the next test on the regulation for the President. "If the President sincerely rejects the law, he should issue a Perppu (government regulation in lieu of law) to revise a number of articles in the regulation that threaten democracy," he said.
The President, Ferry added, should not hesitate to issue a Perppu, which was the President’s constitutional right. The sixth President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, once issued a Perppu on the Regional Election Law when he objected to changes in the electoral system from a direct election to an internal election within the regional legislative councils.
The Perppu is also necessary because taking the judicial review path will require time before the Constitutional Court issues a ruling.
Association for Election and Democracy executive director Titi Anggraini added that if a judicial review was conducted, there was also no guarantee that the Constitutional Court\'s decision would accommodate the public’s objections to the law. She also urged the President to issue a Perppu.
A House member of the United Development Party (PPP) faction, Arsul Sani, said that if a Perppu was issued, it could be implemented by simply rewording the articles that the public had deemed a threat to democracy.
Both the PPP and the Nasdem Party factions rejected the revised MD3 Law for passing into law at the Feb. 12House Plenary session. The eight other factions approved the revised law.
Applying the amended MD3 Law also means the immediate addition of a House deputy speaker for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), three deputy speakers to the People\'s Consultative Assembly (MPR) for three political party factions, and one deputy chairman to the Regional Representative Council (DPD), as stipulated.
With regard to this matter, House Speaker Bambang Soesatyo said the House leadership would immediately send a letter to the House’s PDI-P faction to submit the name of its House member who would fill the position of the new House deputy speaker.
PDI-P faction treasurer Alex Indra Lukman said they ere still awaiting a decision from PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri on the party cadre who will be named the faction’s House deputy speaker.
