TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chairman of the Constitutional Court (MK) Arief Hidayat sent a letter to President Jokowi to immediately find a candidate to replace Judge Maria Farida Indrati who will retire in August. Maria’s tenure will end in coincident with the simultaneous election of the regional heads in the 171 regions.
“There must be a dispute on the regional election that will need MK`s concern. Therefore, we hope President Jokowi will notice," he said at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Tuesday, March 13.
Based on the Law, Arief said, the Court must send a letter to the proposing agency six months prior to the end of a judge’s tenure. He hopes Mary's substitute can be found soon before her tenure ends. So, there will be no vacuum of judges at the court.
Maria became the first female MK judge in Indonesia. However, Arief explained that his office cannot insist or encourage the President Jokowi to find women as Maria’s substitute.
Arief explained that a person who will become the MK judge must understand the ideology of Pancasila and the constitution as well as competent in the constitutional field. "The judge must have an extraordinary ability."
AHMAD FAIZ IBNU SANI