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Safeguard court’s independence, ‘Strawberries’ remind us
Beyond this landmark victory of the “Gen Z”, often dismissed as easily bruised “strawberries” by exasperated seniors, is the urgency to retain the independence of the highest court.
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Courting controversy: A police officer walks in front of the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta on Feb. 4, 2025. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S.)
A
pleasant surprise greeted the New Year, when the Constitutional Court announced it had annulled the threshold for political parties to nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Our heroes were four law students from the Yogyakarta State Islamic University (UIN Sunan Kalijaga). Reports said the ruling overturned the Court’s rejections of at least 33 similar judicial review requests since the threshold was introduced ahead of the 2004 general elections, the first of the post-Reform era.
Now parties no longer need at least 20 percent of national legislative seats or 25 percent of national vote in the preceding legislative election to nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
However, any political party would still seek wide support for the necessary resources, mainly massive money accessible to the economic and political elite.
Beyond this landmark victory of the “Gen Z”, often dismissed as easily bruised “strawberries” by exasperated seniors, is the urgency to retain the independence of the highest court. With the Court’s historic establishment in 2003, citizens felt empowered with their right to request a judicial review of the laws.
Every Constitutional Court (MK) ruling has been a step forward, or backward, depending on who you ask. One Court decision potentially rescued neglected children when it ruled that offspring born out of wedlock retain legal relations with their biological fathers. Some women were furious as the children of mistresses, like the plaintiff, would be entitled to inheritance.
Another controversial ruling was its rejection to annul the 1969 Blasphemy Law, citing potential anarchy in the absence of a law defining religious blasphemy.
