T

he recent election of a new Constitutional Court chairman saw little of the interest or fanfare typical to Indonesian politics, as incumbent chief Mahfud MD was predictably re-elected to serve another term until August 2014.

Mahfud won five of the nine court judges’ votes, beating judges Hardjono (two votes) and Hamdan Zulva (one vote).

After his re-election, Mahfud said, “We want to make the court more assertive and independent. We won’t be deterred by criticism so long as our decisions are in the interest of the public as well.”

The 54-year-old law expert, who was first elected as a Constitutional Court judge in 2008, is probably one of the most popular figures in the country. He is down to earth and his courage is well known to alter laws deemed inconsistent with the 1945 Constitution and defended by the political elites.

The former National Awakening Party politician and defense minister is also credited for his rigorous efforts to promote transparency in the Constitutional Court, as started by his predecessor, Jimly Asshiddiqie, who, like Mahfud, has a penchant for media exposure.

When two court judges, Akil Mochtar and Arsyad Sanusi, were implicated in bribery allegations while handling a local election dispute in 2010, Mahfud personally assisted the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) with investigating the scandal.

Mahfud also encourages the public to participate in safeguarding the institution’s integrity by reporting any corruption they know of to the court.

Recently, he reported a General Elections Commission (KPU) official for allegedly masterminding the falsification of Constitutional Court documents from a 2009 electoral dispute that resulted in the appointment of a politician to the House of Representatives.

One of his admirers is Yenny Wahid, leader of the newly founded Nusantara National Prosperity Party (PKBN), who plans to support Mahfud to run for president in the 2014 elections.

His courage to spotlight corruption in high places has also made him one of Indonesia’s newsmakers who often appears on TV and in newspaper headlines, thanks to his unusual generosity in granting interviews — something that a statesman and judge usually refrain from.

Of course, being easily available for interviews is something wonderful in a democratic culture that Indonesia is cultivating, but in the case of Mahfud, he often gets carried away and makes statements that would better come from the mouths of politicians.

For example, in a recent fray over House Speaker Marzuki Alie’s controversial proposal to dissolve the KPK, Mahfud savaged Marzuki, saying Marzuki was misguided and that the KPK was “more credible than the House that Marzuki leads. So, logically, if the personnel are not credible, the institution is even less credible and should be disbanded as well”.

Despite all the criticism, Mahfud’s re-election has undoubtedly pleased those yearning for a clean and accountable Constitutional Court. Since its establishment in 2003, the court has earned a reputation as a role model for transparent, modern, corruption-free, cheap and efficient proceedings.

Hopefully, Mahfud still remembers the promise he made when he became the constitutional judge in 2008: that from then on he would see himself as a statesman, not a politician who would put his political party’s interests above anything else.

As chief judge of the Constitutional Court, he should rather talk less and in contexts of the Constitution. As a statesman, he should better control his penchant to publicly comment on everything under the sun just because he enjoys his status as a newsmaker or perhaps celebrity.

He may, and has the right to, aspire for the presidency, but the public will assess his eligibility from his statesmanship rather than his tweets.