Arief Hidayat Says Laws Are Inherently Flawed From Birth, Why?

Jakarta — Kompas.com: Former Chief Justice Arief Hidayat cited Satjipto Rahardjo, Professor at Diponegoro University, who said that laws are actually defective from birth. ‘Why are laws defective from birth? Because the Law is created by a legislative body that is the product of conflicts of interest, a blend of conflicts of interest from various interests that live real in the parliament,’ Arief said at the Parliamentary Threshold Seminar, cited from the YouTube osotvchannel, on Wednesday 4 March 2026. ‘Even so, it was created by humans; no one is ideal. Especially after being discussed in the body called the legislative body,’ he said. Therefore, the advent of a constitutional design. The Laws created by the legislative body must be tested by a single body called the Constitutional Court (MK). ‘Even though its content is only nine people (judges), that can overturn what has been made by hundreds of people. Because what is supreme (highest) is not power, what is supreme is the constitution,’ he said. ‘Even so, the Constitutional Court consists of people, who can also make misjudgments. Therefore, we must realise properly that there are MK decisions that are pro and con,’ he explained. The proportionality, he said, must create a balance towards political stability in government, party simplification, and the effectiveness of decision-making. ‘MK emphasises the need for proportionality. The balance between creating government stability, the simplification of parties, and the ease of making decisions because of the simplification in parliament,’ he noted. Arief referred to MK Decision Number 116/PUU-XXI/2023 which stresses that changing the threshold formula must not eliminate the votes of legitimate voters by discarding them in vain. ‘Not allowed to eliminate many valid votes that are discarded in vain, because that would not align with the principles of people’s sovereignty. That is MK Decision 116,’ he stated.