Arief Hidayat, who served as Chief Justice of Indonesia\u2019s\nConstitutional Court from 2015 to 2018, said strengthening social\ncohesion, enforcing justice under the law and implementing an economy in\nline with the Constitution were key to restoring Indonesia\u2019s\ncivilisational prominence.<\/p>\n
He also highlighted the importance of guaranteeing equality before\nthe law and government, as mandated by the 1945 Constitution. In his\nview, the greatest challenge is the gap between the ideal theory of law\n(das sollen) and practical realities on the ground (das sein).<\/p>\n
He said the high cost of elections in Indonesia stemmed from a form\nof democracy that had only reached the electoral surface. Arief stressed\nthat the political mandate granted through elections must not be\nsevered, but should be fully linked to public welfare through economic\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe give a mandate through elections to distribute prosperity to the\npeople. But for now that connection is broken, as if, after we have\nhanded it over for five years to the DPR, the MPR and the President in\nJakarta, they can form a Cabinet as they please, cannot be questioned\nand do not have to consider people\u2019s welfare,\u201d Arief said in a statement\non Thursday (29 October 2026).<\/p>\n
He was speaking at a national seminar entitled \u201cThe Main Points of\nState Policy: Setting the Direction of Indonesia\u2019s National\nDevelopment\u201d. The event was organised by the MPR\u2019s Study Agency in\ncollaboration with the Constitutional Law Students\u2019 Association at\nSyarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta, at the\nuniversity\u2019s campus in South Tangerang, Banten, on Wednesday (28\nOctober).<\/p>\n
Held to coincide with Youth Pledge Day, the seminar examined the\nimportance of PPHN in setting the direction and strategy for sustainable\nnational development.<\/p>\n
Arief urged Indonesia not to become trapped in radical constitutional\nchange that could trigger a constitutional deadlock and further weaken\nalready fragile social cohesion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen social cohesion is weak, changing laws\u2014something we have always\nimagined to be constitutional\u2014can instead lead to a constitutional\ndeadlock. That could result in chaos once again,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Invoking Bung Karno\u2019s call to \u201cJas Merah\u201d, or \u201cNever Forget History\u201d,\nArief urged all sections of society to reflect on the great history of\nthe Nusantara before the 15th century. He also called on Indonesians to\ngive thanks for the country\u2019s natural and geographical wealth.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom that, we can see whether we should not be deeply grateful to\nGod Almighty for allowing us to stand. Why do we stand? God tells us to\nstand. God has given us so much, yet we are ungrateful and fail to make\nuse of these blessings; instead, we deny them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At the same event, MPR Study Agency member Ida Fauziyah outlined\nseveral principles relevant to PPHN. These included the maxim\n\u201cTasharruful imam \u2019alar ra\u2019iyyah manutun bil mashlahah\u201d, meaning that a\nleader\u2019s policies and actions towards the people must be based on the\npublic good. Ida said this principle should serve as a compass for\nleaders.<\/p>\n
She said the principle was also reflected in the thought of Kiai Haji\nAbdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) on Islam and public welfare, in which power\nis not an end in itself.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia\u2019s context, Ida said, that orientation is consistent with\nthe purpose of establishing the state, as set out in the Preamble to the\n1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where the idea of PPHN finds its relevance. The MPR Study\nAgency has produced a draft study on the substance and possible legal\nforms of PPHN after a series of intensive discussions beginning in late\n2024. It was completed in August 2025, but we are continuing to examine\nit in greater depth,\u201d Ida said.<\/p>\n
Ida stressed that PPHN was not intended to abolish or replace the\nexisting national development planning system, including the RPJPN,\nRPJMN, RPJPD and RPJMD. Instead, she said, PPHN was expected to provide\nstrategic guidance so that development planning could be integrated and\nsustained.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Muhammad Maksum, Dean of the Faculty of Sharia and Law at\nUIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, stressed the importance of PPHN as a\nguide to coordinating state institutions and directing national\ndevelopment in the post-Reformasi era.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe MPR now has equal standing with the presidential, judicial and\nlegislative institutions, so it seems there is no body bringing all\nstate institutions together or synchronising them. That is why\ndiscussion of PPHN, formerly known as the Broad Outlines of State Policy\n(GBHN), is crucial: the people, nation and state need clear guidance to\nachieve their national goals,\u201d Maksum said.<\/p>\n
He also noted that today\u2019s students were distant from an\nunderstanding of state policy direction because GBHN is no longer\nincluded in modern education curricula.<\/p>\n
Through the academic forum, Maksum hoped Constitutional Law students\nand the wider university community would gain direct insight from\nexperts and policymakers. He urged students to develop three key\nqualities for engaging with constitutional issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents need three things: integrity, competence and courage. The\nintegrity and competence we gain through knowledge mean nothing if we\nlack the courage to speak up and do what is right for this nation,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Rizqon Halal Syah Aji, Director of UIN Jakarta\u2019s Centre for Economic\nand Public Policy Studies (Pustek), highlighted fundamental problems in\nthe national economy that are affecting young people, particularly\nGeneration Z.<\/p>\n
He said the main concerns for young people were the availability of\njobs and the difficulty of affording a home, problems he linked to the\nabsence of a consistent direction for economic development.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, our Gen Z friends are concerned about jobs. When the\nPresident or government has no state policy direction, the state of the\neconomy becomes unclear. The promised 19 million jobs have yet to\nmaterialise. And for Gen Z, the dream of owning a home is like a\ndaydream,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rizqon said Indonesia\u2019s economic development was often caught up in\nthe ambition to pursue growth figures alone, rather than focusing on a\nmore equitable distribution of prosperity and social protection for the\nwider public.<\/p>\n
He referred to modern economic thinking, including that of Nobel\nPrize-winning economists, which emphasises the importance of fair policy\ninstruments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say that pursuing economic growth sometimes means chasing\nfigures rather than welfare. The principle of taking people\u2019s side has\nthe same underlying spirit: governing for the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also said PPHN should act as the main navigator to prevent the\ncountry\u2019s direction from changing with each new political leadership or\nelectoral cycle. Without binding guidance, he said, strategic state\nprogrammes could be interrupted midway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy? Because a new President comes in and the programmes change. As\na result, there is no continuity in the programmes we expect, and no\nclear direction for where the nation is going. Every country has\nsomething like PPHN; Malaysia and Hong Kong do too. It is a fundamental\npolitical principle: welfare and protecting people\u2019s livelihoods,\u201d he\nadded.<\/p>\n
He said development should return to the ideals set out in the\nPreamble to the 1945 Constitution, with human development as a central\npillar. Education and access to welfare, he said, must be consistently\nsafeguarded rather than merely regulated administratively on paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we want to fulfil the fourth paragraph of the Constitution\u2019s\nPreamble, this is not only about politics. The state also has a\nresponsibility to provide free education amounting to 20 per cent of\nspending, as stipulated in Article 31, paragraph 4 of the 1945\nConstitution. This is fundamental,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/academics-and-mpr-members-highlight-pphns-role-in-sustainable-development-1793285477", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }