Indonesia's democratic foundations face a critical test as Arief Hidayat, former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, publicly condemned the institution he once led for a ruling that altered presidential age requirements—a decision he describes as the beginning of Indonesia's democratic decline.
In remarks reported by Kompas, Hidayat identified the 2023 Constitutional Court ruling that lowered the minimum age for vice presidential candidates—widely seen as enabling President Joko Widodo's son to run—as a turning point when legal institutions began serving political interests over constitutional principles.
"This decision became the starting point when Indonesia was not okay," Hidayat stated, warning that institutional capture threatens the country's reputation as Southeast Asia's largest and most successful democracy.
The warning carries particular weight given Hidayat's credentials. As Chief Justice from 2015 to 2018, he presided over the Constitutional Court during critical rulings on presidential elections and regional autonomy. His public rebuke of his former institution signals deep concerns within Indonesia's legal establishment about dynastic politics and judicial independence.
The age limit ruling allowed Gibran Rakabuming Raka, then 36, to qualify as vice presidential candidate despite the 40-year minimum age requirement. The Constitutional Court, then led by Anwar Usman—Widodo's brother-in-law—carved out an exception for sitting regional leaders, a category that conveniently included Gibran, who was serving as mayor of Surakarta.
Usman was later sanctioned by the judicial ethics council for failing to recuse himself from the case, but the ruling stood. Gibran went on to win the vice presidency alongside President Prabowo Subianto in the 2024 election.
In Indonesia, as across archipelagic democracies, unity in diversity requires constant negotiation across islands, ethnicities, and beliefs. The Constitutional Court's role as guardian of that pluralistic system makes its independence essential—not just for legal consistency, but for maintaining public faith in democratic institutions.
Hidayat's intervention comes as civil society groups and legal scholars raise broader concerns about institutional erosion under the outgoing Widodo administration. The former president's efforts to secure positions for family members in government and business have drawn comparisons to the Suharto-era nepotism that Indonesia's reformasi movement aimed to dismantle.
The implications extend beyond Indonesia's borders. As the world's third-largest democracy and most populous Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia's democratic trajectory influences regional stability and serves as a model for Islamic democracy globally. The country's success in maintaining pluralistic governance across 17,000 islands and hundreds of ethnic groups has made it a cornerstone of ASEAN's democratic credibility.
Thailand and Myanmar have experienced military interventions and constitutional crises in recent years, while Cambodia and Vietnam remain authoritarian. Indonesia's status as Southeast Asia's democratic anchor makes any signs of backsliding regionally significant.
Legal experts note that the Constitutional Court's age limit ruling set a troubling precedent for ad hoc constitutional interpretation that serves immediate political needs over consistent legal principles. The decision effectively allowed one branch of government to rewrite eligibility requirements mid-election cycle—precisely the kind of institutional manipulation that undermines democratic credibility.
"When the Constitutional Court begins making exceptions based on who is in power, rather than what the law says, you've lost the foundation of constitutional democracy," explained one Jakarta-based legal scholar, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Arief Hidayat is saying what many in the legal community have been afraid to say publicly."
The former Chief Justice's warning also highlights tensions within Indonesia's legal establishment between institutional loyalty and constitutional principles. That a respected former leader of the Constitutional Court felt compelled to publicly criticize his former institution suggests the severity of concerns about judicial independence.
President Prabowo, who took office in October 2024, faces the challenge of restoring public confidence in democratic institutions while managing relationships with Widodo's political faction and navigating his own vice president's family connections. How he responds to concerns about institutional integrity will shape Indonesia's democratic trajectory for the coming decade.
For Indonesia's international partners and investors, the stability of democratic institutions matters beyond abstract principles. Predictable legal frameworks and independent courts underpin business confidence, while democratic backsliding raises questions about governance quality and political risk.
Hidayat's warning serves as both diagnosis and call to action. In identifying the age limit ruling as Indonesia's democratic turning point, he's challenging current leaders and legal institutions to course-correct before institutional erosion becomes irreversible.
Whether Indonesia heeds that warning—or continues down the path of political expediency over constitutional principle—will determine whether the country's democratic success story continues or joins the region's troubling pattern of democratic decline.
