Kaligis said that in 1978 the Indonesian Surgeons Congress (MABI) in Medan, North Sumatra changed its name to the collegium

Jakarta, internasionalpos.com

Lawyer OC Kaligis stated that currently the independence of Indonesian medicine is facing destruction due to the intervention of the Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin towards the Collegium in the country.

“The pillar of national resilience in the midst of global threats, so currently health must be pro-people,” said OC Kaligis in Jakarta, Wednesday.

Kaligis said that in 1978 the Indonesian Surgeons Congress (MABI) in Medan, North Sumatra changed its name to the collegium, so the collegium was initiated, born and developed by the medical science instructors as a scientific institution so that the collegium was not formed by the government.

However, he said in the decision of the Indonesian Minister of Health No. HK.01.07 / Menkes / 158/2024 concerning the Membership of the Indonesian Health Collegium which was directly appointed and became a serious precedent that injured the independence of the medical profession.

According to the lawyer who is also a Professor at Manado State University, North Sulawesi, the Minister of Health’s decision was an unlawful act by the administrator.

Even in the provisions of Article 707, 708 and Article 710 of PP No. 28 of 2024, it is essentially stipulated that the collegium in carrying out its duties, functions and authorities must coordinate with the minister and can make adjustments.

Therefore, a number of specialist doctors who call themselves Doctors of Love for the Country (DOKTARA) asked Kaligis to become legal counsel during a lawsuit at the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN).

Meanwhile, the legal basis for the independence of the collegium is Article 28 E paragraph 3 of the 1945 Constitution, Article 1 number 1 of Permenkumham No. 3 of 2016, Article 1 number 26 of the Law on Health and Article 1653 of the Civil Code.

Kaligis added that abuse of authority could change the collegium from an independent scientific institution into a political tool of the government.

In 2010, Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari closed the Naval Medical Research Unit 2 (NAMRU 2) laboratory in Jakarta owned by the United States Navy, that the laboratory was an intelligence activity covered by medical research on the grounds that its existence was a threat to Indonesia’s sovereignty.

** (adit)