Hamdan Zoelva Akui Ditelepon Presiden SBY Terkait UU Pilkada
Indonesia Votes to Scrap Direct Elections, Presiden Yudhoyono Call Constitutional Court Chairman
Reporter : Rizki Saleh
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
Jakarta (B2B) - Ketua Mahkamah Konstitusi (MK), Hamdan Zoelva, mengakui ditelpon Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono terkait disahkan UU Pemilihan Umum Kepala Daerah (Pilkada) oleh DPR.
"Ya memang kemarin sore (Minggu 28/9--red) presiden mengubungi saya," kata Hamdan kepada wartawan di Jakarta, Senin.
Hamdan mengungkapkan presiden merasa kecewa terhadap pengambilan keputusan di rapat paripurna DPR yang mengesahkan UU Pilkada yang mengatur pemilihan kepala daerah melalui DPRD.
Atas kekecewaan presiden tersebut, kata Hamdan, dirinya menyampaikan kepada presiden bahwa praktik ketatanegaraan Indonesia bahwa proses persetujuan didahului oleh pendapat DPR melalui fraksi-fraksinya dan dilanjutkan sambutan dari pemerintah.
"Saya memberikan satu contoh UU Pengesahan Kepulauan Riau yang pada saat itu Ibu Megawati tidak setuju dan prinsipnya tidak memberikan tanda tangan untuk mengesahkan UU itu, tapi berdasarkan pasal 20 ayat (5) UUD di tandatangan atau tidak UU itu otomatis berlaku," kata Hamdan.
Ketua MK ini juga mengungkapkan bahwa asal usul lahirnya pasal 20 ayat (5) UUD 1945, pada zaman Presiden Soeharto ada UU yang sudah disepakati di rapat paripurana DPR, tetapi presiden tidak tandatangan sehingga UU tersebut tidak berlaku.
Hamdan juga mengungkapkan bahwa kejadian tersebut juga terjadi pada Presiden BJ Habibie di mana UU Keadaan Bahaya juga tidak ditandatangani sehingga tidak UU tersebut tidak berlaku.
"Nah karena ada kasus kenegaraan itu lah, pada perubahan UUD dipertegas, bahwa dalam pasal 20 ayat 5 UUD 1945, jika diambil keputusan di paripurna baik ditanda tangani atau tidak oleh presiden tetap berlaku. Saya sampaikan hal ini karena saya waktu itu ikut menyusun (amandemen--red)UUD 1945," kata Hamdan.
Ketika ditanya apakah Presiden Yudhoyono meminta MK membatalkan UU Pilkada, Hamdan menjawab, "Presiden tidak meminta MK untuk membatalkan UU Pilkada."
Saat ini sudah ada tiga permohonan pengujian UU Pilkada yang sudah terdaftar di MK.
Petugas pendaftaran perkara di MK, Denny Feishal, menyebut ketiga pemohon tersebut adalah permohonan yang diajukan enam perorangan dan empat LSM, pengacara OC Kaligis, dan permohonan yang diajukan oleh 13 perorangan.
Selain itu ada beberapa kelompok masyarakat yang juga akan mendaftar yakni Buruh Harian dan Lembaga Survei yang diwakili Kuasa Hukumnya Andi Asrun serta Elemen Masyarakat Poso.
Andi Asrun mengungkapkan bahwa pihaknya akan mendaftarkan gugatannya pada Senin ini pukul 14.00 WIB. (Ant)
Jakarta (B2B) - The Chairman of the Indonesian Constitutional Court, Hamdan Zoelva, confirmed that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had called him to talk about the ratification of the Regional Elections Law by the House of Representatives (DPR).
"Yes, it is true that yesterday evening (Sunday, Sept 28), Mr. President called me," Hamdan told the press here on Monday.
Hamdan noted that during the phone conversation, President Yudhoyono expressed his disappointment over the result of the DPRs voting that has ratified the Regional Elections Law under which the regional heads will be elected by the Regional Legislative Assembly.
Hamdan said he informed Yudhoyono that in accordance with the Constitution of Indonesia, the law was drafted by the DPR with the prior acceptance of the government.
"I gave him the example of the Riau Island Laws ratification: At that time, Madame Megawati (then Indonesian president) did not agree and, principally, did not sign to ratify the law. However, based on Article 20, Line (5), of the Constitution Law, whether or not a president signs a law, it automatically becomes applicable," Hamdan explained.
Hamdan added that Article 20, Line (5), of the Constitution Law, was framed based on a case that took place during the tenure of President Soeharto (the second Indonesian president). There were some laws that were accepted by the DPRs plenary meeting, but Soeharto did not sign them, hence they could not be applied.
A similar case arose during the tenure of President BJ Habibie (the third Indonesian president), when the State of Emergency Law was not signed by him, and it could not be applied.
"Keeping those constitutional cases in mind, during the amendment of the 1945 Constitution Law through Article 20, Line (5), it was stated that if a law was ratified by the DPRs plenary meeting, it would be automatically applied with or without the Presidents signature," Hamdan noted.
"I said that (to President Yudhoyono) as I, too, had participated in the drafting of the 1945 Constitution Laws amendment," he added.
Hamdan denied that President Yudhoyono had asked the Constitutional Court to annul the Regional Elections Law.
"No president would ask the Constitutional Court to annul the Regional Elections Law," he stressed.
This time, the Constitutional Court had received three submissions for judicial reviews on the Regional Elections Law.
According to the Constitutional Courts administrative officer, Denny Feishal, the three submissions were made by a group of six individuals plus four non-governmental organizations (NGOs), renowned lawyer OC Kaligis, and another group of 13 individuals.
Besides these submissions, more NGOs such as the Daily Labors Association, represented by its lawyer Andi Asrun, and the Poso Community Association will also submit their judicial review proposal.
When asked, Andi Asrun said the proposals were submitted to the Constitutional Court on Monday (Sept 29) at 2 pm local time.