Hasyim Asy'ari Former KPU: Gibran's Suket is Fully the Responsibility of Kemendikbud

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Chairperson of the General Election Commission (KPU) for the 2022-2024 election cycle, Hasyim Asy'ari, stated that the validity of the educational equivalency certificate (suket) for Gibran Rakabuming Raka is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud).

"The process and substance regarding the validity of the certificate is entirely the responsibility of the ministry that issued it," Hasyim told Kompas.com on Thursday (8/10/2026).

Hasyim, who has been a member of the KPU since 2016, indicated that the KPU is the end user of Gibran's educational equivalency certificate as he runs for the vice-presidency in the 2024 presidential election.

"In this case, the KPU acts as the end user of the letter from the ministry," Hasyim added.

Moreover, the entity that issued Gibran's suket is not the KPU but rather the ministry.

Therefore, Hasyim argues that the process and substance regarding the validity of Gibran’s suket fall under the responsibility of the Kemendikbud, which is now called the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen).

"The main problem lies with Kemendikbud regarding the procedural fulfillment of the document requirements for issuing the educational equivalency certificate," he remarked.

He explained that the KPU operates under the provisions of Law No. 30 of 2014 concerning Government Administration.

Hasyim used the issuance of KPU Chairman's Letter No. 1145 as an example, which he described as an initiative of the KPU to address a legal vacuum in KPU Regulation No. 19 and to follow up on the Constitutional Court's (MK) Decision No. 90.

According to him, this action has also been reviewed by the MK in its legal considerations, demonstrating that the norms within the Government Administration Law remain applicable in the administrative actions of the KPU.

Hasyim: KPU's Action is Only Declarative

Hasyim then explained the position of Gibran's educational equivalency certificate in governmental administrative law.

He stated that the suket is a State Administrative Decision (KTUN) that is constitutive because it is issued by the Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education, which is the competent administrative body or official.

He referred to Ministerial Regulation No. 29 of 2014, Article 1, number 7, which governs this authority.

Thus, according to Hasyim, the suket is a binding KTUN as stipulated in Article 33 of the Government Administration Law.

In contrast, the KPU merely exercises bounded and declarative authority when determining if a candidate meets educational requirements.