Legal Expert: Law Enforcement Against Officials Does Not Require Presidential Approval

Constitutional law expert Margarito Kamis has asserted that law enforcement against state officials does not require presidential approval, as no such provision exists within Indonesia’s constitutional system. He made the statement in response to the controversy surrounding the legal process against former Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Febrie Adriansyah, whose legal team had questioned whether the investigation should have been coordinated with the head of state. “There is no rule stipulating that law enforcement against legal apparatus or ministers can only be carried out with the president’s permission,” he told ANTARA in Jakarta on Tuesday evening. According to Margarito, law enforcement reflects the president’s policy as the holder of executive power in a presidential government system, and therefore the law must be enforced consistently without being distorted. He also expressed a positive view of law enforcement under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, provided it upholds legal certainty and is not used for purposes outside the legal framework. The controversy arose after Febrie Adriansyah was named a suspect in an alleged corruption and money laundering case. The case is currently being handled by the Attorney General’s Office following its transfer from the Police’s Corruption Eradication Corps (Kortastipidkor). Febrie’s lawyer, Hotman Paris Hutapea, had questioned the legal process, claiming it lacked prior coordination with President Prabowo and describing his client as a figure who had contributed significantly to corruption law enforcement.