Chief Justice Asked to Resign After Plan to Marry President's Sister

A legal scholar is calling for Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Anwar Usman to resign from his position following plan to marry the sister of President Joko Widodo.

The director of Center for Constitutional Studies (Pusako) at Andalas University Feri Amsari said stepping down is the sensible option for the Chief Justice if he’s going to marry the President’s sibling, in order to avoid conflict of interest related to his work at the Constitutional Court.

“Chief Justice should resign to prevent conflict of interest allegations,” Amsari said on Monday, March 21, as reported by Suara.com.

“[Considering that] the President is involved in many affairs in the Constitutional Court, especially in judicial reviews.”

Previously, Widodo’s son, who is also the mayor of Solo, Gibran Rakabuming Raka confirmed the news. It was reported that Usman and Idayati got engaged on March 12, and Idayati revealed that they are set to marry on May 26 in Solo.

According to her, they first met in October last year through a mutual friend.

Idayati’s late husband Hari Mulyono previously died in 2018 after being treated at Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital after a stroke.