Expert Says Muzani's Assignment to Khamenei's Funeral Is Constitutional

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Fahri Bachmid, a constitutional law expert at the Indonesian Muslim University, has assessed that the assignment of MPR RI Speaker Ahmad Muzani to attend the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a special envoy of President Prabowo Subianto is constitutional.

According to him, Muzani attended the funeral as the President’s special envoy, not in his capacity as Speaker of the MPR RI.

“This is in line with the attributive authority of the head of state, and technically the execution of this mandate was also coordinated directly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the leading sector for the conduct of foreign policy and diplomacy,” Fahri said in a statement received in Jakarta on Thursday.

Fahri explained that the assignment remains constitutionally valid because it is grounded in the President’s authority as head of government as well as the holder of the mandate over foreign relations.

He also cited Presidential Regulation Number 106 of 2025, which governs the position and duties of presidential special envoys in carrying out specific assignments outside the scope of ministries or government institutions.

According to Fahri, the President may appoint professionals, public figures or politicians as special envoys as long as they possess the necessary capacity. However, special envoys have no authority to make binding decisions in the way ministers do, nor to take over the duties of a ministry.

Earlier, Deputy Speaker of the MPR RI Bambang Wuryanto questioned the mechanism of appointing the MPR Speaker to attend Khamenei’s funeral because it was not discussed at an MPR leadership meeting.

“I was contacted by the Foreign Minister, who said the President requested that we represent the Indonesian people and nation to travel to Iran to attend the funeral ceremony of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,” Muzani said in Jakarta on Tuesday (8 July).

Muzani said the President had assigned him, together with Foreign Minister Sugiono, to attend the funeral ceremony, and he affirmed that his presence was an assignment as the President’s special envoy.