JAKARTA - Constitutional law expert Refly Harun criticized the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan who questioned the reasons President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had to step down from his position in 2024.
Refly was surprised that Luhut questioned Indonesia's constitutional agenda. He considered that Luhut did not understand the rules in the topic he conveyed.
"The name is the agenda in the presidential government system, the president is guaranteed a term of office unless he gets impeached. So there is no vote of no confidence and the cabinet falls," he explained, quoted from the YouTube channel Refly Harun, Thursday, March 17.
Refly explained that only a parliamentary system of government where the general election schedule could be held at any time. Meanwhile, the presidential system of constitutional agenda has been regulated in a definite constitution.
"In the presidential system of government, elections are steady, once in five years, or once in four years," he said.
Refly considered it natural that Luhut did not know the constitution in depth. However, as minister Luhut is expected not to bring up controversial statements that cause a stir.
"So it's natural that Pak Luhut doesn't understand like this," he added.
Previously, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Constitutional Law expert Zainal Arifin Mochtar asserted that extending the term of office of the president would be tantamount to destroying the constitution.
Zainal said that history has never recorded a democratic country ever destroying the constitution by changing the term of office of the president.
He said that countries that extend the power of the president by changing the constitution usually adopt an authoritarian system of government. The power of government is led by a tyrant or a few people.
"No democratic country likes to play with the term of office," said Zainal in a discussion entitled 'Constitutional Democracy in Threat', Wednesday, March 16.
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