DPR Allegedly Trying to Weaken the Constitutional Court

The escape of Adies Kadir as a constitutional judge is suspected of being an attempt by the DPR to weaken the Constitutional Court. (Ist)

JAKARTA - Researcher of the Indonesian Parliament Care Society Forum (Formappi), Lucius Karus, suspects that there is an attempt to weaken the Constitutional Court (MK) when the DPR passed Adies Kadir as a constitutional judge.

He reasoned that the selection process for Adies to become a Constitutional Court judge was carried out in a flash and was closed to the public, which meant ignoring the position of the DPR as a representative institution. The DPR should consider the existence of the people as an important part that must be involved in the process of determining state officials through parliament.

"However, the DPR seems reluctant to hear and absorb public aspirations before selecting constitutional judges. This neglect of the public role confirms that Adies Kadir is not the person chosen to strengthen the role of the Constitutional Court in the future," said Lucius, Sunday, February 1.

According to him, the lightning process to pass Adies as a constitutional judge shows that the former Golkar politician was sent on a secret mission and that there was a certain political power game behind the election of the former Adies Kadir as a legislative proposal. "It seems that there is a high-level political game that moves in the quiet space related to this candidate for constitutional judge," he added.

This, continued Lucius, was seen from Adies's escape after the DPR removed Inosentius Samsul who had previously been approved to pass as a constitutional judge through the suitability and decency test. Moreover, Adies underwent a very fast selection process, because it was only about one to two hours.

He explained, the parliamentary discipline through Article 198 Paragraph 2 of the DPR Regulation Number 1 of 2014 actually regulates the procedures for the selection and discussion by the Commission. The selection and discussion includes administrative research, presentation of vision and mission, feasibility test, determination of candidate order, and public notification.

The selection process can only be excluded if other laws order the DPR to only provide approval. Meanwhile, the process for constitutional judges, which is the responsibility of the DPR, begins with the selection process until finally the approval.

"This means that the DPR does not just give approval. The DPR must start from determining the candidates, selecting, conducting fit and proper tests, and finally making decisions on the candidates. However, all of the standard processes were not carried out by Commission III when passing Adies as a constitutional judge," he said.

"There is no plan, no special agenda, let alone a fit and proper test for Adies Kadir by Commission III, even the decision to approve Adies was made in the internal meeting forum of Commission III. This internal meeting is usually closed," continued Lucius.