Luhut's Desire To Extend His Term Of Office Does Not Represent President Jokowi

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has launched a discourse on postponing the 2024 election and extending President Jokowi's term of office by several years. Luhut explained that the discourse came from the majority of Indonesian people's aspirations on social media which he collected into big data.

Communication expert from Pelita Harapan University (UPH), Emrus Sihombing, said that the statement did not represent the desire of President Jokowi, who repeatedly said he refused to extend his term of office.

"This is the difference, Mr. Jokowi is a statesman who obeys the constitution. Making the constitution is the foundation of the nation and state. Unlike Mr. Luhut, who is a politician who thinks politically", Emrus told VOI, Wednesday, March 16.

According to him, President Jokowi will not be trapped in a discourse that can tarnish his name and will refuse to extend his term of office if it is actually rolled out.

Emrus also admitted that the discourse on postponing the election was indeed an aspiration of an Indonesian citizen guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution. According to him, in a democratic country, everyone is free to express their opinion.

"However, it should be underlined that the aspirations that no one expresses must not conflict with the applicable law. In the case of Mr. Luhut, it is clear in our 1945 Constitution that the term of office for a president is a maximum of two terms. So if someone proposes to postpone the election, it means they want to violate the constitution", he said.

Emrus also admitted that he was ready to discuss directly and debate with Luhut if necessary regarding the issue of postponing the election.

"I am ready to debate with Mr. Luhut or with anyone who has launched the discourse of postponing the election because in my opinion as a good citizen, we must adhere to the constitution", he concluded.