REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MAKASSAR — Former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD assessed implementation of law in Indonesia is currently chaotic. Therefore, he called on all parties to focus in addressing the issue. Mahfud said practices of manipulating the law still happened in the country.

"More than 50 percent of the country's problems can be solved properly if the law is enforced because those problems originated from legal issues," Mahfud said when giving a public lecture at Hasanuddin University, in Makassar, South Sulawesi on Thursday (Sept 20).

He explained, a number of problems had become increasingly worsen because it was not followed up according to its certification. He mentioned corruption in the field of education, equity, infrastructure projects as examples.

Likewise with health problems, where many patients were untreated because the budget prepared by the government was manipulated. Even worse, Mahfud said it happened due to legal establishment could be bought. People with money was known to have the power to order for a law, he said.

"In the past there were forestry laws that were detrimental to entrepreneurs, then it was told to be changed. Coastal laws have changed to provide benefits for investors who take community rights as they pay House of Representatives (DPR) members,” Mahfud who is also former defense minister revealed.

Mahfud said certain parties did not like him for making such statement. They accused he delivered fake news about manipulation of the laws.

Mahfud who was nominated as incumbent President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) running mate stressed that he knew exactly about the issue.  “I know it since I was Constitutional Court chief justice," he said.

According to Mahfud, people would pay to get the word "and" and "or" in the law.  Another example showed by Mahfud was the disappearance of the tobacco article in Law on Health, referring to the 2009 scandal involving lawmaker Ribka Tjiptaning, Asiyah Salekan and Maryani A Baramuli. Although the three lawmakers had been named as suspects, the case was terminated in 2010.

Ahead of regional elections, politicians sometimes tackled their political opponents by manipulating the law through framing or opening old cases, Mahfud said. Once set as suspects, their opponents failed to be candidates in elections.

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