Discourse On The Position Of President For 3 Periods, Feri Amsari: Potential For Power Abuses

Director of Pusako Feri Amsari. (Photo; Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Director of Pusako Feri Amsari said that the discourse of a three-term presidential term should be watched out for in Indonesian democracy. This is because there is a potential for power deviation if the term of office is not limited.

"In fact, if the term of office is a bit longer, there will be potential for power deviation," he said in a virtual discussion, Thursday, March 11.

In fact, Feri said, the United States has also imposed restrictions on the term of office of the president. From the beginning there was no limit to only two terms for someone to serve as head of the state.

Perversion of power, said Feri, the measuring instrument is not only about who becomes president but what is the temptation of power which then makes a person need to continue his power far from the specified restrictions.

On the same occasion, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Constitutional Law Expert Zainal Arifin Mochtar said he was worried that the discourse to change the presidential term would actually materialize. Because, he said, Indonesia has problems with the presidential government system.

"I departed from caution because we have problems in the presidential system itself, we have a basic problem, namely the problem in which authoritarian possibilities are greatly facilitated. Even though with 2 periods it is very possible, because it is associated with high party support patterns. Again, in my opinion, the symptoms will be stronger, "he said.

As is well known, the issue of the discourse on extending the presidential term to three terms has returned to the public. The discourse that surfaced several months ago was widely discussed in all societies, including by various figures.

At the end of 2019, proposals for changing the presidential term were also busy. MPR Deputy Chairperson Asrul Sani once revealed that the proposed presidential term would be changed to one or even three terms of office. Later, Asrul said that the proposal came from members of the NasDem faction.