The People Are Considered To Have The Right To Correct Their Representatives In Parliament

Illustration - PAW should also be done by the people as voters for members of the DPR. (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA - Director of the Jakarta Institute, Agung Nugroho, considers that the people as voters have the right to correct, including proposing the dismissal of members of parliament/DPR, which has only been under the authority of political parties.

According to him, the lawsuits of five students namely Ahmad Rizky Akbar, Nadya Pramesti, Bagus Wirayudha, Citra Maharani, and Leonardus Ardi Prakoso against the MPR, DPR, DPD, and DPRD (UU MD3) laws by asking the Constitutional Court to reinterimally interpret the mechanism for interim dismissal (PAW).

"This initiative is important because it touches on fundamental problems in Indonesian democracy, to what extent do the people have control over the representatives they choose? So far, after the election is over, the people's political participation space is drastically shrinking. The people are only spectators, while political parties are in full control of the fate of cadres who sit in parliament, "said Agung, Sunday, November 23.

In fact, the principle of democratic representation places the people as mandate holders. When a member of the DPR is involved in violating ethics, ignoring constituents, or showing conflicts of interest, the public does not have a formal channel to provide corrections. The PAW mechanism, which is entirely in the hands of the party, has reduced public accountability.

He emphasized that the lawsuit or ideas proposed by the students were not a threat to political parties.

This is because the lawsuit is not to weaken legislative institutions, but is an impetus to strengthen the quality of democracy.

Moreover, by opening space for constituents to propose PAW, relations between representatives of the people and the people as voters will be deepened again.

Agung stated, although there are concerns that the people can use this mechanism emotionally or politically, it can be dismissed through the design of strict, verifiable, and evidence-based procedures.

The state can regulate the threshold for support, an independent verification mechanism, and ethical procedures that maintain stability.

In addition, in the context of Indonesia, which is still struggling to improve the quality of representation, this lawsuit actually opens the door for more participatory democracy.

The reason is, people's control does not stop at the ballot booth, but continues to be maintained during their term of office.

"Regardless of the Constitutional Court's decision later, this lawsuit should be appreciated. Students show that the younger generation is not only observers, but takes a substantive role in caring for democracy. Indonesia needs the courage to propose changes that restore sovereignty to the hands of the people," concluded Agung.