Constitutional Court shall give a "Red Card" for the National Budget 2007 -- Mova's comment

The Article of the Constitution reads:

"The state (shall) give priority to the education budget (by allocating) at least 20 percent of the state as well as regional budgets to meet the requirements of implementing national education." (Article 31 paragraph 4, 1945 Constitution, 4th Amendment)

The Court rejected the petition last year by declaring the case inadmissible on the grounds that if the submission is accepted, the State will be faced with an economic chaos. I have discussed this case on my newspaper article here.

For me, the issue is no longer whether the Court should give a red card or not. Red card should've been given long ago after finding the facts that the State budget law was unconstitutional. Thus, the issue now is whether the Court should declare the case inadmissible or admissible (and consequently annul the State budget law). Before going with such decision, the Court will have to utilize a cost and benefit analysis. This will not be easy as the law says nothing about it. My guess is, it will be declared inadmissible.

Constitutional Court shall give a "Red Card" for the National Budget 2007 -- Faiz

National Budget Act of 2007 regarding to the budget allocation of education, once again, have been applied for judicial review before the Indonesian Constitutional Court. The applicants of this case are still same with the applicants of the two latest judicial reviews on National Budget Act of 2005 and 2006; one of them is the Indonesian Teacher Association. This petition is related with an education sector in the Act which is only get a budget allocation of 11.8% from a whole National Budget Act of 2007 or we can say it is only around US$ 9,01 billions from the total of US$ 76,36 billions. According to the applicants, the allocation budget for education is violating the 1945 constitution mandate which supposed to be it shall gives an allocation priority for education budget at least 20% from National Budget and Regional Budget [see Article 31(4) of the 1945 Constitution]

I have predicted and analysed around six months ago, exactly one day after the National Budget of 2007 came into force, that there would be a kind of such petition. Sufficiently raising the allocation budget for education in this year has shown that the government is not serious to implement the mandate of 1945 Constitution. And it shall be looked that it is not due neither with the morality of constitution nor the spirit of constitution. Whereas two judicial decisions from Constitutional Court have clearly stated that the budget allocation for education was unconstitutional.

Two ‘yellow card’ decisions of the Court are enough to warn the government who has violated the constitution. It is the time for the Court gives a ‘red card’ to the government for his third willful who always determined the education budget under the minimum obligation of 20% from the National Budget.

Firmly and clearly decision shall be marked to kindle and intrigue the awareness of every government protagonists for the important meaning of education whereby it can save our child of nation who will be the main asset for Indonesian development in the future. If it is happen it will be the milestone of Indonesian resurrection on education from its long time header.

Moreover, when we study for a comparative law in various developing countries then we will see how their judicial institution has played an important role to boost its government to achieve their constitutional obligation in providing the sufficient education for their citizens. One of the countries whose the court always gives decision with a fully and firmly support to the right of education is India. It is a country which is categorized by Arend Lijphart as the country who has a strong judicial review system. Unfortunately, it is not happen in our constitutional system.

Quoting an opinion from Holmes, Justice of US Supreme Court, that constitution provisions are not only a formulation of mathematics which can make matrices. It is a living institutional organ. It has an important role and it is made not as easy as weaving words from a dictionary, but it is made with the attention of its real and development in every time. Therefore, the judicial institution, especially for constitutional court, shall able to make the constitution become the heart people’s constitution and thereafter it is use to rule the government.