Should MK be More Accessible?

A professor of constitutional law from Andalas University, Saldi Isra, says the Constitutional Court (MK) is just too liberal in providing public access inside their office building. According to Saldi, this is dangerous because there might be some people who are seeking confidential information for financial profit. MK should only provide the result of hearings as public information.

“In Scotland and the United States, there are many restricted areas in Constitutional Court office where no one can enter except the judges of the Constitutional Court. This is to prevent any person to gain confidential information for trade,” says Saldi Isra during a public discussion titled “Constitutional Court Hears You” in Jakarta (03/09).

As a response, Editor in Chief of Tempo Magazine, Arif Zulkifli, says MK is not accessible enough for journalists and media. Journalists work for the public and easy access into MK will facilitate journalists to provide a more objective and fair coverage.

“We, media workers, think MK is not accessible enough. During Mr Mahfud era (former Chief Judge of MK—translator), we can obtain information easily. This helped our job providing news to the public,” says Arif.

The current Chief Judge of MK, Arief Hidayat, says that he will consider every recommendations and criticisms from the public. He will form a special team to improve MK’s internal performance.