DPR accepts proposal to impeach President Jokowi

The DPR is ready to accept the impeachment proposal against President Jokowi. Responding to this discourse, the Palace returned it to the people.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in DPR Tampung Usulan Pemakzulan Presiden Jokowi

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

President Joko Widodo, along with the Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly Bambang Soesatyo (on the left), the Speaker of the House of Representatives Puan Maharani (second from the right), and the Chairman of the Regional Representative Council La Nyalla Matallitti, delivered a state address during the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly and Joint Session of the House of Representatives and Regional Representative Council at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta on Wednesday (16/8/2023).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The House of Representatives or DPR, Tuesday (16/1/2024), accommodated a proposal from civil society groups to impeach President Joko Widodo. However, the DPR considers that the proposal must also be accompanied by evidence of legal violations committed by President Jokowi.

President Jokowi's impeachment discourse came from the aspirations of a number of figures who called themselves Petisi 100. These figures were represented by Faizal Assegaf, Marwan Batubara, and Lieutenant General TNI (Ret.) Suharto, who on Tuesday (9/1/2024) last week visited the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD to report alleged fraud 2024 Election and even proposed Jokowi's impeachment .

The alleged election fraud is related to the nomination of Jokowi's eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as vice presidential candidate to accompany presidential candidate number 2, Prabowo Subianto, in the 2024 Presidential Election.

See also: Puan and Mahfud MD Respond to Jokowi's Impeachment Discourse

Look at the urgency

Chairman of the DPR Puan Maharani when met after the Plenary Meeting for the Opening of the III Session Period of the 2023-2024 Session Year of the DPR at the Nusantara II Building, Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday, said, whatever aspirations may be submitted to the DPR. However, the extent of the urgency remains to be seen.

"So, let's see what the urgency is. However, since it is an aspiration, we must accept it," said Puan.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Residents unfurled a banner during a peaceful protest in front of the official residence of Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka at Loji Gandrung, Slamet Riyadi Street, Surakarta City, Central Java, on Monday (16/10/2023). The community's action was related to the issue of political dynasty along with the discourse of the President Joko Widodo's child's nomination as a vice presidential candidate in the upcoming elections.

Puan emphasizes that the impeachment of the President cannot be done arbitrarily. Everything must go through a process. Furthermore, impeachment can only be carried out if the President is proven to have committed a legal violation.

"To carry out such an action (the impeachment of the President), it must be proven that the President has violated the law and so on," said Puan.

In the 1945 Constitution, Article 7A states that the President and/or Vice President can be impeached during their term by the People's Consultative Assembly upon proposal by the House of Representatives.

What Puan refers to is regulated in the 1945 Constitution, Article 7A which states that the President and/or Vice President can be dismissed during their term by the People's Consultative Assembly upon the recommendation of the House of Representatives if they are proven to have committed unlawful acts such as treason, corruption, bribery, other serious crimes, or misconduct, or if they are proven to no longer meet the qualifications as President and/or Vice President.

Furthermore, Article 7B states that a proposal for the dismissal of the president and/or vice president can only be submitted by the House of Representatives to the People's Consultative Assembly after first requesting the Constitutional Court to examine, adjudicate, and decide on the opinion of the House of Representatives that the president and/or vice president has committed legal violations such as treason against the state, corruption, bribery, other serious crimes, or dishonorable acts; and/or the opinion that the president and/or vice president no longer meet the qualifications as president and/or vice president.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Deputy Speaker of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad

Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, believes that the proposal for the impeachment of the President must go through the proper mechanisms and be executed properly and correctly. "And, I think, all good aspirations, both those proposing and those rejecting, should also be considered," he said.

However, as the leader of the House of Representatives and also a top leader of the Gerindra Party which is part of the government coalition, Dasco has his own views on the impeachment discourse against President Jokowi. According to him, the effort is too far-fetched because President Jokowi has demonstrated various successes during his two terms in office.

"Yes, with President Jokowi's many proven successes, it is overly exaggerated to suggest impeachment, in my opinion," said Dasco.

Also read: Doubts Behind Jokowi's Neutrality Promise

Iklan

Not dealing with impeachment

Meanwhile, Mahfud MD stressed that presidential impeachment is not within the scope of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, but rather a matter for political parties and the DPR (Parliament). He reiterated that a group of civil society organizations who met with him last Tuesday demanded the 2024 elections be held without Jokowi.

In addition, he also explained that the matter of President Jokowi's impeachment is not within the authority of the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security. The impeachment process for the President must go through a series of lengthy processes in the House of Representatives until the Constitutional Court (MK).

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Mahfud MD, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs

According to Mahfud, the impeachment of the president must be proposed by 2/3 members of the Indonesian Parliament. Then, a plenary session must be held with the requirement of 2/3 of the members of Parliament present. If 2/3 of the attending members of Parliament approve the impeachment of the president and meet the requirements, then it will be taken to the Constitutional Court.

"It won't be finished within a year if the situation remains like this, at least it won't be finished before the election is over. That takes a long time," said Mahfud.

Mahfud admits that he has never stated whether he agrees or disagrees with the proposal to impeach President Jokowi, including in a meeting with representatives of Petisi 100. He merely allowed civil society to bring the proposal to the DPR, not to the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs. "So, whether Mr. Mahfud agrees? I didn't say agree or disagree, just bring it to the DPR. Don't ask for impeachment from the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs. It's not allowed," he said.

Mahfud admitted that he never stated either agreement or disagreement with the proposal of impeaching President Jokowi, including during a meeting with representatives of Petition 100.

Separately, the Coordinator of President's Special Staff, AAGN Dwipayana, at the Office of the Ministry of State Secretariat in Jakarta, stated that President Jokowi is not bothered by the impeachment issue. He emphasized that the heated political situation should not lead to political polarization.

"Of course, the President is not too bothered by this discourse because he continues to work as usual, given that governmental duties are becoming more and more challenging, especially with the number of issues that need to be resolved by the President by 2024. Therefore, he is not at all disturbed," said Dwipayana.

KOMPAS/CYPRIANUS ANTO SAPTOWALYONO

The Coordinator of the President's Special Staff, Anak Agung Gde Ngurah Ari Dwipayana

The Palace returned the assessment of the President's performance to the community. The survey results from several credible institutions still show that the level of trust, confidence, and satisfaction of the community towards the President is still quite high, above 75 percent. This indicates that the community appreciates and also trusts the President's leadership.

In facing the political dynamics, ahead of the 2024 election, the President is also continuing to work on administering the government. "Spaces for expressing aspirations, criticisms, or voicing opinions are legitimate. However, we must prioritize bigger issues, national interests. We must not let politics become increasingly heated, leading to sharper and divisive politics, eventually disrupting the unity of the nation," said Dwipayana.

In the constitution corridor, Dwipayana asserts that the requirements for impeachment must pass through the mechanisms of three institutions. Firstly, impeachment must be attended by 2/3 of DPR members and approved by DPR. The second political test is the Constitutional Court, where MK must be involved as a judicial body. The third test is that 3/4 of MPR must be present and approved by 2/3 of its members. "The existing mechanisms clearly regulate impeachment with the requirements that I have mentioned. Anything outside of that is an unconstitutional act," he said.

Also read: The Aroma of Village Head Friendship Engineering for President Jokowi for Three Periods

Not productive

The Chief of Staff of the Presidency, Moeldoko, deemed that the issue of impeachment is unproductive and disturbs the situation leading up to the 2024 election. Moreover, he assessed that the public's appreciation towards President Jokowi is still very high, thus making the issue deemed inappropriate.

"Don't have other agendas which, in my opinion, are not productive like that. It is not productive for society and it is not productive for the government because of the first concern. The President is still very concerned about completing his duties which only have a few months left. We're going all out on gas. "We gas pol, the term is to complete various government programs," said Moeldoko.

DOKUMENTASI KANTOR STAF PRESIDEN

Chief of Presidential Staff, Moeldoko

In addition, the government is highly focused on following the process of the elections in Indonesia. Moeldoko stressed that President Jokowi remains neutral in carrying out his duties. Consequently, public services can be accessed by anyone, regardless of their political affiliations.

During the Cabinet Meeting, according to Moeldoko, ministers from various political party backgrounds were present. Therefore, all political parties supporting all presidential and vice-presidential candidate pairs were guaranteed to hear if there was a message of support for a certain candidate.

Accusations of President Jokowi's lack of neutrality have also been mentioned by Moeldoko as a subjective assessment from certain parties. "If it's subjective, those who treat it as subjective, well, it's difficult to see it in its entirety. But if we look at it clearly from a general perspective, that's what applies. If we already have subjectivity in seeing something, we will definitely be able to make mistakes in seeing it," said Moeldoko.