Guard the MD3 and RKUHP Laws to the Constitutional Court

INDUSTRY.co.id - Mataram - The Muslim Journalists Forum (Forjim) deplores the ratification of the Law on MPR, DPR, DPD, and DPRD (Act of MD3) by Parliament. One of the articles that should be in the spotlight is Article 122 letter (k) in the MD3 Law.

The article states that the MKD (Council of Honor Council) is in charge of taking legal steps and / or other measures against individuals, groups of people, or legal entities that undermine the honor of the DPR and members of the People's Legislative Assembly.

"This article according to some constitutional lawyers is very risky because it can easily criminalize those who criticize (harshly) the House of Parliament Besides the word degrading of honor can be subjective, there is also a thin margin between criticism and degrading of honor," said Chairman of Forjim Dudy Syabani Takdir, Thursday (22/2) in Mataram.

Therefore, the Forjim supports the steps that have been made by some parties to bring this article to the Constitutional Court. In addition, of course, article 122 (k) of this, may interfere with the independence of the press as guaranteed by the Press Law no. 40 of 1999. For Forjim, members of the MPR / DPR / DPRD / DPD, deserve to be criticized continuously and even criticized hard, because they get a salary and luxurious facilities from the people.

"We ask the members of Parliament and the government to eliminate the articles in the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) about insulting the president," he said.

In RKUHP, article of defamation of the president is regulated in article 239 paragraphs (1). It states that any person in public who insults the president and vice president shall be punished with a maximum imprisonment of five years or a maximum fine of Category IV (Rp500 million). Meanwhile, in article 239 Paragraph (2) it is stated that the act is not an insult if "it is clearly done for the public interest, for the sake of truth, or self-defense".

He said the article of defamation of the president is similar to Article 134, Article 136, and Article 137 of the previous Criminal Code. This article is inconsistent with the current state of Indonesia in the form of Republic and adheres to the principle of democracy. This rule according to the Constitutional Law Experts was originally an adaptation of Dutch law, namely contempt for the royal family.

The Constitutional Court in 2006, through its verdict has canceled the norm of contempt to the President in this Criminal Code. In addition, the president is actually not a symbol of the country, because under Law 24/2009, the meaning of the state symbol is the flag, language and symbol of the state Pancasila.

"This article may also hamper the freedom of the press which is the common goal of Indonesian society, because journalists in their duties often make sharp criticisms to the president or vice president who are not serious in taking care of their people," explained Dudy.

In addition, said Dudy, Forjim supports the expansion of adultery and LGBT in the RKUHP, on the other hand Forjim expects the government to remove the rubber article of contempt against this president. For Forjim, the president and vice president deserve continuous criticism by the people, because they are public officials, the bearers of the mandate that must be accountable to the people and God Almighty.

"They in carrying out the mandate also get various privileges, salary and luxurious facilities from the people," he said.

Forjim, added Dudy, is concerned and demands the government, in this case the Police, to thoroughly investigate various cases of physical assault on the figures / kyai / ulama / habaib / pesantren boarding leadership that has been massively happening lately.

"The state should be able to protect Muslim figures from the threat of terror of any group, even though the perpetrators mode is crazy," he asserted.