Jakarta, IO – Newly-minted Constitutional Court (MK) judge Arsul Sani said he has given up all other positions when taking the oath of office before President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the State Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (18/1). He replaced Wahiduddin Adams whose term has ended.
Arsul made this statement in response to public doubts regarding his neutrality if he is to pass a ruling on election disputes, per IDN Times.
Previously, Arsul was a United Development Party (PPP) politician, member of the House of Representatives (DPR), People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) and owned a law firm.
“In accordance with the Constitutional Court Law and the MD3 Law, a judge cannot hold concurrent position as a state official and member of a political party,” said Arsul. “So I have submitted my resignation as a member of the DPR and MPR effective on Sunday, the first week of December 2023,” he added.
Arsul also asked all parties to be patient so that he could prove his good performance as a Constitutional Court judge. Arsul emphasized that public trust is vital to MK credibility.
Arsul was born in Pekalongan, Central Java, on January 8, 1964. Since he was young, he has been involved in legal world. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Indonesia’s (UI) Faculty of Law in 1987.
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He then got a degree in Communication Studies from The London School of Public Relations (LSPR) in 2007. Then he went on to study Justice and Policy at Glasgow Caledonian University, UK, in 2011.
Within PPP, he was often entrusted with a number of important positions such as secretary general of the PPP central executive board since 2016 and MPR deputy chair from 2019-24. (un)