REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SOLO -- A healthy Constitution ensures that there is no absolute power in Indonesia, President Joko Widodo stated at the opening of the International Symposium of the Association of Constitutional Court at the Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta.
"Referring to our Constitution, there are no institutions that possess absolute power, let alone anything like dictatorship. The Constitution ensures a balance of power between government entities, and they can monitor each other," the president remarked during his keynote address at the opening of the International Symposium of the Association of Constitutional Court in Surakarta, Wednesday.
He believed that the current Constitution in Indonesia prevents the existence of a democracy that imposes the will of a mob.
Indonesia's Constitution protects diversity in both dissent, as well as ethnicity, culture, and religion, he stated.
"It is the Constitution that stops certain groups from unilaterally imposing their will without respecting the rights of other citizens," he added.
The state leader further explained that Indonesia, as a democratic country, places its Constitution as the main reference in building healthy and institutionalized practices in democracy.
Indonesia's Constitutional Court is hosting the International Symposium of the Association of Constitutional Courts and Similar Institutions from the Asian region on Aug 9-10.
The event is themed "The International Symposium of the Constitutional Court as the Guardian of Ideology and Democracy in a pluralistic society."
Several delegations from countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, South Korea, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Russia, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia are participating in the event.
Indonesian officials who had also attended the function include Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto, Head of the Indonesian Constitutional Court Arief Hidayat, and Governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo.