Bintang Mahaputera emblem. (Image via Wikipedia)

LBH: 6 MK justice should return their Bintang Mahaputera

Following the award ceremony of Bintang Mahaputera involving 71 awardees on Wednesday ago, Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) urged six justices of Indonesian Constitutional Court (MK) to return their Bintang Mahaputera awards bestowed upon by the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

Speaking on Friday, the Director of LBH Jakarta, Arif Maulana, stated his suspicion that the awards could be Jokowi's intervention on the MK's judiciary independence. Maulana also mentioned that the award was also held along the fact that Jokowi is being sued on the ratification of the omnibus law on job creation. Therefore, to avoid public suspicion, Arif suggested these 6 justices to return Bintang Mahaputera award.

Moreover, Arif stated that Bintang Mahaputera awards for the 6 MK justices further confirmed public suspicion on the speedy revision of the MK Law which extends the justice's office term. Therefore, Jokowi has breached Temporary People's Consultative Assembly Decree (TAP MPR) no. VI of 2001, on ethics of politics and government.

Meanwhile, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Asfinawati, questioned the awarding of Bintang Mahaputera by Jokowi to Arief Hidayat, one of the 6 MK's justices. Asfin mentioned that previously, Arief was sanctioned twice, once in 2016 when he sent a short note to the former junior attorney general for special crimes, Widyo Pramono, and received a written warning in 2018 for the political lobbying for his reelection as the MK's justice,  Therefore, Asfinawati raised the doubt on the consideration of why Arief should receive the award.

Furthermore, Asfin also referred to the Bintang Mahaputera award as a "reward" following Jokowi's request on 28 January to the MK to expedite the lawsuit in the flexible, simple, competitive, and responsive manners. Asfin then hoped that the award for the 6 justices will not hinder their independence amid the problems handed by the people, especially on the job creation law.

It is known that there are 3 MK justices having received Bintang Mahaputera Adiprana award: Arief Hidayat, Anwar Usman, and Aswanto. While, the 3 other MK justices received Bintang Mahaputera Utama award: Wahiduddin Adams, Suhartoyo, and Manahan MP Sitompul.

Source: https://bit.ly/32CtOd1