Herdiansyah Hamzah, a lecturer in constitutional law at Mulawarman\nUniversity, has highlighted the decision by President Prabowo Subianto\nto dispatch the Speaker of the MPR, Ahmad Muzani, to attend the funeral\nof Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n
He stated that rather than understanding the relationship between the\nMPR and the President, Prabowo is demonstrating a lack of understanding\nregarding the positions of state institutions, including the functions\nof each element of power. \u201cThis decision is clearly erroneous,\u201d said\nHerdiansyah when contacted on Wednesday, 8 July 2026.<\/p>\n
According to him, Prabowo\u2019s decision to send Ahmad Muzani indirectly\nclarifies the existence of political co-optation practices within state\ninstitutions. He continued that, genealogically, Muzani is indeed a\nmember of the Gerindra Party, which is led by Prabowo. However, when a\nparty member is entrusted to lead a state institution, party relations\nshould not be taken into consideration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President should understand that a member who has been assigned\nto lead a specific state institution cannot automatically be assigned on\nbehalf of the institution and their party elements,\u201d Herdiansyah\nremarked.<\/p>\n
Contacted separately, Feri Amsari, a lecturer in constitutional law\nat Andalas University, held a different view. He stated that if Muzani\u2019s\nassignment to Iran is in the context of representing the state, then the\nPresident has the right to appoint leaders of state institutions to\nrepresent the President\u2019s position as Head of State.<\/p>\n
With that consideration, he noted that appointing Muzani as a state\nrepresentative is permissible, including for attending ceremonial\nactivities such as the funeral of a world leader. \u201cUnless it is in the\ncontext of the Head of Government. That cannot be done,\u201d said Feri.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, 7 July 2026, via a post on his Instagram account @ahmadmuzani<\/span>, the\nSpeaker of the MPR, Ahmad Muzani, conveyed that he and Foreign Minister\nSugiono were sent by President Prabowo to attend the funeral procession\nof Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n Muzani claimed that his presence alongside Sugiono reflects the\nIndonesian nation\u2019s concern over the death of Ali Khamenei following an\nattack launched by the United States and its allies, Israel, in February\n2026.<\/p>\n \u201cOur presence is an official representation of the government and all\nthe people of Indonesia, who share in the grief over the passing of the\nSupreme Leader of Iran,\u201d Muzani stated in an Instagram post on\nWednesday.<\/p>\n The dispatch of Muzani to attend Ali Khamenei\u2019s funeral has drawn\nscrutiny due to his position as Speaker of the MPR. The Deputy Speaker\nof the MPR, Bambang Wuryanto, also known as Bambang Pacul, stated that\nthere is no mechanism that allows the President to issue orders to the\nSpeaker of the MPR.<\/p>\n According to him, the relationship between the President and the MPR\nis a relationship between high state institutions that cannot command\none another. A President, he said, can request the opinion of the MPR\nthrough consultative meetings but cannot issue direct commands.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if the President sends the Speaker of the MPR, I do not believe\nthe mechanism works like that,\u201d said the politician from the Indonesian\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) at the DPR\/MPR Complex, Jakarta, on\nTuesday, 7 July 2026.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/academics-respond-to-prabowo-dispatching-mpr-speaker-to-iran-1783493679",
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