MPR to Appoint Legal Experts as Quiz Judges Following Controversy in West Kalimantan
The MPR leadership announced that the Socialisation Body will hold a meeting to evaluate the judging panel. Moving forward, the panel will involve constitutional law experts in every province. Additionally, the MPR will involve members of the MPR RI from the relevant constituencies to provide support for the competition activities, though these members will not be permitted to serve as judges.
“We will also involve all members of the MPR RI, as this represents the MPR RI institution. Therefore, if there is a quiz competition at the provincial level, all members representing those constituencies are encouraged to attend and provide support, but they are not allowed to be judges,” explained Abraham during a press conference at the parliamentary complex in Senatus, Jakarta, on Monday (18/5/2026).
“The judges will be constitutional law experts or university lecturers—essentially academics,” he added.
Abraham stated that the aim is to improve the quality of the competition’s implementation to ensure that the socialisation of the ‘Four Pillars’ becomes more deeply rooted within the community. “Therefore, our conclusion is to continue this competition by improving its quality, ensuring better regulation, and employing professional judges.”
On the same occasion, the Deputy Chairman of the MPR, Abcandra Muhammad Akbar, confirmed that the judges from the MPR RI Four Pillars Quiz in West Kalimantan would be evaluated. He stated that these judges would not be re-engaged for future competitions.
“Sanctions have been applied. We have read and heard various inputs and aspirations from social media. First, there was a request to evaluate the event as a whole, which I have addressed,” he said.
“Second, this includes evaluating the judges, who will not be involved again. I believe this serves as an answer to the previous quiz activities that caused public uproar,” he continued.
He also expressed an apology to the public for the controversy. He noted that the two judges involved had already faced social sanctions. “As of today, there has been no discussion regarding a blacklist, but it is clear that they have faced social sanctions from the public. As long as the quiz is being held, I believe we will invite judges who align with the aspirations of the Indonesian people, or those who are competent, such as experts from universities or constitutional law specialists.”