Legal Experts Remind Constitutional Changes Can Make Democracy Index Slump

JAKARTA - Law expert from the University of Indonesia, Bintang Hidayanto reminded the government not to change the constitution only for political purposes.

Bintang emphasized that if a country's constitution could easily be changed by a mere concentration of power, this could be a signal that the government does not uphold the rule of law.

"The course of history has proven that constitutional changes for the purpose of concentration of power will be viewed by the international community as a despotic act and lead the government of a country to authoritarianism," said Bintang in his statement, Wednesday, March 16.

Bintang said that changing the constitution for political purposes could also make the democracy index decline.

Meanwhile, the democracy index is very important for a country, apart from being a number that describes the democratic life in a region, the democracy index is also very influential on the diplomacy of a country in the international world.

"The challenge for the Indonesian people today is how to realize a democratic election that upholds the rule of law. If we can, the world will be more confident in us. If we give up, the world will also give up supporting us," said Bintang.

Bintang said that currently Indonesia is in dire need of investment, both domestic and foreign.

For investors, the existence of constitutional certainty is more needed than the existence of an economic policy package whose implementation has not been guaranteed consistency.

"With the decline in democratic values and the perception that the rule of law is not upheld by a country, it will certainly have a negative effect on perceptions of the ease of doing business and investing in Indonesia," he said.