Legal Experts Prepare Recommendations for Structuring the Presidential Cabinet

HTN-HAN experts will provide recommendations regarding the presidential cabinet, including the relationship between the president and vice president.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

President Joko Widodo, along with Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, took a photo with the ministers on the front yard of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday (23/10/2019). On that day, the President announced the composition of his government's cabinet called the Indonesia Maju Cabinet.

MAKASSAR, KOMPAS — Professors and lecturers of constitutional law and state administrative law from several universities gathered in Makassar, South Sulawesi, to discuss the arrangement of the cabinet presidential in Indonesia. It is hoped that the meeting will produce a number of recommendations regarding the arrangement of the cabinet based on the constitution.

Secretary General of the Central Management of the Association of Teachers of Constitutional Law-State Administrative Law (APHTN-HAN) Bayu Dwi Anggono said that his party had reviewed the arrangement of the presidential cabinet in terms of constitutional reflection and projection. The results of this study will be presented at the APHTN-HAN National Working Meeting (Rakernas) which will be held for three days, Friday-Sunday (26-28/4/2024), in Makassar.

The study discusses, answers, and provides recommendations for several issues related to the regulation or practice of presidential cabinet formation in Indonesia so far.

Several issues tackled and answered in this study, added Bayu, include the true extent of the president's power in a presidential system of government, the president's authority in forming the government, the constitutionality of government institutions, and the regulation of ministries in the constitution.

KOMPAS/RINI KUSTIASIH

Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Jember Bayu Dwi Anggono

In addition, the research team also discussed the regulation of ministries in the Law on Ministries and the decisions of the Constitutional Court. An evaluation was also conducted on the practice of forming cabinets before the 2024 period. The study aims to make projections on how to form a constitutional presidential government cabinet.

Regarding this matter, APHTN-HAN will provide several recommendations regarding the relationship between the duties of the president and vice president, the nomenclature of ministries, the number of ministries, the existence of coordinating ministers, qualifications for ministers, ministers from political and non-political parties, the position of deputy ministers, government agencies in the palace, structural and non-ministerial institutions, including the position of the attorney general from a non-political party.

The study is referred to as a follow-up from the APHTN-HAN National Conference in Batam, Riau Islands, in September 2023. At that time, the conference discussed the dynamics of general elections and state administration as an implementation of the 1945 Constitution.

APHTN-HAN will provide several recommendations regarding the relationship of the president and vice president's duties, ministerial nomenclature, number of ministries, presence of coordinating ministers, ministerial qualifications, and ministers from political and non-political parties.

Several recommendations have been produced, including the improvement of governance and the implementation of elections in Indonesia. The academic organization also hopes to contribute to solving various problems in the formation of the presidential cabinet in Indonesia.

"Ensuring the improvement of election governance is urgent, but after the election, it is also important to ensure that the elected government in forming the cabinet always bases it on constitutional provisions, academic studies, and public aspirations," said Bayu.

Also read: Presidential Institution Bill Urges to Limit the President

The study and recommendations from APHTN-HAN will later be published and utilized by universities and the government. The formation of a cabinet by the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka administration is expected to bring benefits in realizing a clean, democratic, and prosperous governance for the community.

HERYUNANTO

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The APHTN-HAN national meeting is part of the organization's annual routine agenda. The event will feature several agendas, ranging from progress reports of APHTN-HAN's central and regional organizations, preparation of annual work programs, a guest lecture by a constitutional judge, to a national seminar.

A seminar will discuss the topic of "Presidential Cabinet Arrangement in Indonesia", with speakers, Zudan Arif Fakrulloh (Acting Governor of West Sulawesi), Satya Arinanto (Special Staff for Vice President in the Legal Field/Professor of the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia), Wawan Mas'udi (Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Gadjah Mada University), Retno Saraswati (Professor of the Faculty of Law, Diponegoro University), and Oce Madril (Chairman of the APHTN-HAN Assessment Team).

According to Bayu, what is different in this year's national meeting, APHTN-HAN will present the results of a study prepared by a team of assessors regarding the arrangement of the presidential cabinet in constitutional reflection and projection.