Group says deputy ministers unconstitutional

JAKARTA: A group has filed a judicial review of the 2008 Law on State Ministries, arguing that the legislation is unconstitutional because it allows deputy minister posts in the President’s Cabinet.

The group, the National Corruption Eradication Movement, also known as GN-PK, said the Constitution did not acknowledge the position of deputy minister, thus President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had unconstitutionally inaugurated deputy ministers in his Second United Indonesia Cabinet.

Article 10 of the law stipulates that the President can appoint deputy ministers to handle matters that need special attention while the Constitution says that he can elect ministries to assist him.

“It’s clear that the Constitution doesn’t acknowledge the position of deputy minister and thus the inauguration of the deputy ministers by the President is unconstitutional,” M. Arifsyah, the group’s attorney, said Friday as quoted by vivanews.com.