Questioning House members

From Media Indonesia

Regarding the police and their right to summon House members, reported on Aug. 7, allow me to give the following legal opinion: 1. In Article 3 of Law No.13/1970, upon which the summon was based, there is no mention of whether the President's approval must be oral or written. 2. If the approval is given orally, it must be acknowledged by the House member. If the President voices his approval in the presence of the House member, the approval must be written and shown to the person concerned. 3. The special procedure for summoning a House member is connected with his/her position as a representative of the people. 4. The position of the President here is not as leader of the executive branch but as the head of state. 5. Each decision by the President as head of state must be in writing and cannot be delegated. 6. It is a House member's right to comply with a summon without the President's written approval. To ask for proof of the President's approval is also the right of the representative. 7. The Attorney General's insistence that the approval be legal is not sufficient.

L. RONALD FIRMAN, SH

South Jakarta