Mahfud MD Reminds Legal Experts Not To Get Stuck In Political Partisanship

BADUNG - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam) Mahfud MD reminded legal experts not to get caught up in political views that favor certain interests so that the thoughts conveyed to the public remain clear and objective.

According to Mahfud, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Association for Teaching Constitutional Law and State Administrative Law (APTHN-HAN), if a legal expert has an alignment with a certain political agenda, his analysis is often misleading.

"(Legislators) Don't make the mistake of doing the analysis, because sometimes if you have a political attitude then the legal analysis is wrong, taking sides with one argument, looking for one with this argument, (then) the law can only look for arguments," he said. Mahfud at the National Symposium on Constitutional Law in Nusa Dua, Badung, Bali, reported by Antara, Wednesday, May 18.

Mahfud explained that the situation would be different if it happened to bureaucrats like himself, who now serves as Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, and Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly as Minister of Law and Human Rights (Menkumham).

"It's different for me and Pak Yasonna, because the government has choices that must be accounted for. So, if I choose this, I'm responsible. That could be politically," he added.

He gave an example of the polemic of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) group which was widely discussed by the public. Mahfud regrets that there are legal experts who are not clear and thorough in providing their analysis to the public regarding the polemic.

This refers to the statement by the University of Indonesia Criminal Law expert Chudry Sitompul, who said that LGBT violated the provisions of Law (UU) Number 1 of 1974, in an interview with one of the national mass media, Thursday (12/5).

Mahfud explained that Law Number 1 of 1974 regulates marriage and does not regulate criminal penalties for LGBT groups.

"Yes, LGBT is prohibited under the marriage law, but (it doesn't) mean that we can arrest that person. Only if there is a marriage with another LGBT person, it's not legal. That's all," he said.

If same-sex marriage is not legal, then same-sex couples may not get legality in the form of marriage certificates and inheritance rights, he added.

Criminal sanctions also take into account the principle of legality. Thus, he said, if the police currently arrest someone because of their LGBT identity, then it violates the principle of legality which is the basis of the law.

"There is no criminal law (which prohibits LGBT). If we arrest it, it means we violate the most fundamental legal principle in criminal law, namely the principle of legality. People should not be arrested unless there is a law that prohibits them first," he said.