TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The plaintiff in the public lawsuit against the government’s regulation in lieu of law (Perpu) No.1/2020 known as Perpu COVID-19 - which enables the government to allocate spendings above the legal cap of 3 percent from the GDP to programs related to COVID-19 - has requested for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to be present in the Constitutional Court hearing.

Acting as the plaintiff, the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (Masyarakat Antikorupsi Indonesia | MAKI) argues that President Jokowi is the most appropriate individual to give an explanation about the issuance of the Perpu COVID-19.

“He was the person who ratified the Perpu COVID-19 and we need his presence to clarify the urgency of passing the absolute immunity for financial state officers overseen by the perpu,” said the MAKI coordinator Boyamin Saiman on Tuesday, May 19.

MAKI, along with a number of public institutions are challenging the government’s decision to include outright immunity in the Perpu’s Article 27, which states that government financial officials cannot be subjected to civil or criminal lawsuits upon executing the regulation.

House legislators previously passed the Perpu in its latest plenary despite pressure from the public to drop the Perpu entirely.

The Constitutional Court hearing held today on Wednesday, May 20, has scheduled a hearing from the President Jokowi and members of the House. The president is planned to be represented by Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, and Attorney General ST Burhanudin.

However, the MAKI coordinator maintains that it would be disappointing to see the president be represented by state ministers as he views they would not be able to explain the larger picture of the government’s Perpu COVID-19 in tackling the crisis.

“We want to hear the explanation directly from the supreme leader in terms of where the nation is headed to,” said Boyamin Saiman.

M ROSSENO AJI