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Rindang B Fahrizky
2211411015
British Studies 507-508

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF INDONESIA
AND THE UNITED KINGDOM: STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

I. INTRODUCTION
As an individual and a citizen, we have to know how government systems work, and to do this
we have to understand the political process behind it. As citizens, we may think that our
government system is the accepted form. However, to have better comprehension of our own
political system, we need to do a comparison between our country and another country in terms
of how the government system works.
This essay aims to compare the systems of government of Indonesia and the United Kingdom
regarding to the constitution, separation of governments power, the similarities and
differences between the two countries and the advantage of disadvantage of both systems.
II. THE UNITED KINGDOM GOVERNMENT
A. CONSTITUTION
A constitution is a set of laws on how a country is governed. The United Kingdom is one
of few countries that doesnt have a written constitution. This kind of constitution is intended
so that the law is flexible and can be adjusted to present situation without too many problems.
Even though there is no codified constitution, the United Kingdom does have constitution,
referring to the usage of the term constitution that means royal edict, and Sir James
Whitelockes concepts of constitution: (a) the natural frame of the state, and (b) the public law
of the realm. Therefore, all statutes, common laws and traditional rights can be said as the
constitution of the United Kingdom. The amendments of British constitution come about
formally through Acts of Parliament and informally through the acceptance of new practices
and usages.
B. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
To avoid concentration and abuse of power in the government, the British government is
separated into three branches, executive, legislative and judicial branches.
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The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy as
Head of State. It means the state is governed by a king or queen who accepts the advice of a
parliament. However, the Head of State doesnt hold any power in government system,
parliament does. Parliament is led by the Prime Minister. However, Prime Minister cant rule
the country without support from Parliament. If Parliament thinks that Prime Minister should
be removed, then he/she will. Prime Minister candidate is usually the head of the winning party
in the election.
(i) The Privy Council
The Privy Council is a body of advisers to the Queen. It is formed from combination of
members of the Parliament, churchmen, judges, and diplomats. The Privy Council used
to hold the major power of executive branch, but since the Cabinet system was applied
in 18
th
century, the executive power shifted to the cabinet.
(ii) Monarchy
As the time went, the absolute power of monarch was more and more increased.
Although the Queen still opens the parliament, sign the Acts of Parliament and such,
monarchy doesnt really hold any power in government. Presently, the Queen follows
what the Prime Minister and the Cabinet decide.
C. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Theoretically speaking, Monarch holds the major power in the United Kingdom. However
the presence of the Monarch is merely ceremonial. Monarch is integrated in the Parliament
(known as Queen-in-Parliament), meaning that Monarch gives the law-making authority to the
Parliament. However, laws made by parliament arent valid without approval from the
Monarch (known as Royal Assent).
(i) The Parliament
British Parliament, that holds the most power in government system, consists of two
chambers, House of Commons and House of Lords. House of Commons is politically
more powerful than House of Lords.
(ii) Political Parties
In the House of Commons, the three major parties are Labour Party, Conservative and
Unionist Party and Liberal Democrat Party.
D. JUDICIAL BRANCH
The judicial branch in the United Kingdom is not unified, meaning each constituents has
their own court systems. British judicial system also doesnt have the exact highest court. For
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some cases, the highest court is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, for some others, it
goes to the Supreme Court or even the House of Lords.
III. INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT
A. CONSTITUTION
Unlike the United Kingdom, Indonesia has a valid constitution, which is Undang-Undang
Dasar 1945 (UUD 45). If theres an article in UUD 45 that can no longer be applied in present
situation, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) can amend it.
B. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Indonesia practices presidential democratic republic, so President is the head of state as
well as the head of government. President is elected directly by Indonesians every 5 year in
what so called General Election. President doesnt answer to bicameral legislative branch, the
House of Representatives (DPR) and Regional Representatives Council (DPD). However, to
make laws, President has to get approval from the House of Representatives.
(i) Supreme Advisory Council
Supreme Advisory Council or Dewan Pertimbangan Presiden is a board whose
members are chosen by President to offer advices and considerations to President
related to what the government should and should not do.
C. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The legislative power is handed to MPR which formed by two chambers, DPR and DPD.
The members of Parliament and DPR and DPD are also elected by Indonesians in General
Election. The real power is on DPR, such as making and changing the law, scrutinizing the
government and making decision about budget and such. DPD simply support DPD.
D. JUDICIAL BRANCH
The judicative branches in Indonesia are Supreme Court, the highest court in Indonesia,
and Constitutional Court.
IV. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
The similarities between the government of United Kingdom and Indonesia are:
- Both countries follow Montesquieus trias politica
- Both countries follow bicameral legislative system
- Both countries follow multi-party system
- The heads of government of both countries have to rule based on constitution.
- The heads of state of both countries have advisors, The Privy Council for the Queen of the
United Kingdom, and Supreme Advisory Council for the President of Indonesia.
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The differences of both countries are listed in table below:
The United Kingdom Indonesia
Constitution Doesnt have a written constitution

Has a written constitution (UUD
45)
Government
System
Parliamentary Democracy with
Constitutional Monarchy
Government type: Parliamentary
Head of State: the Queen
Head of Government: Prime
Minister

Presidential Democratic Republic

Government type: Republic
Head of State and Head of
Government: President
Government type: Republic
Cabinet Cabinet answers to the Parliament Cabinet answers to President
Executive
Branch
Led by Prime Minister, who is
chosen by the Queen from the
winning party
Led by President, who is chosen by
citizens through General Election
Highest
Court
Doesnt have the highest court Has Supreme Court as the highest
court

V. WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS
Both the United Kingdom and Indonesia have different government type. Each type has their
own weakness and strengths.
Weaknesses Strengths





The United
Kingdom
Easy to remove executive
Because executive is accountable to
parliament. If executive loses support
from parliament, executive can be
removed anytime.
Legislation passes quickly
Because executive and
legislative come from the same
party. So they most likely have
the same opinion about what
bill to pass
Executive is not directly elected
It makes the power of Prime Minister
is less legitimate. Its also possible that
the winning party wins only because
of the Prime Minister candidate,
instead of the party and its policy
Power is spread out
Because Prime Minister
doesnt hold the biggest power
in the government. Plus, he/she
can be dismissed easily.
Majority always wins Flexible to public
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The minority of the society wont be
heard because executive and
legislative are in the same sides.
Theres no check and balance.
Because legislation passes
quickly. So itll suit what
people need.







Indonesia
Legislation doesnt pass quickly
Because executive is chosen in a
separate election and often come from
a different party than the legislative.
Its more likely for executive to have
an argument with legislative, so
passing law takes quite a lot of time.
Executive is more stable
Because executive has fixed
term and cant be removed
anytime.
Executive can be too powerful

Because executive cant be removed
as easily as Prime Minister and it
allows him/her to abuse power, make
strategies to prolong his/her term.
Executive and Legislative are
parallel
It makes each other can
monitor each other and avoid
power abuse.
Lack of Responsibility
Because they are in the same position,
if an issue rises, both executive and
legislative can blame each other.
Executive is elected directly
It makes the presidents power
more legitimate.

VI. CONCLUSION
The United Kingdom and Indonesia have completely different government system. Each has its
own advantages and disadvantage. However, its important to know the consideration that
motivates the choice of the government type. British believe that they do not need a written
constitution to regulate their life, while Indonesia considers that UUD 45 is what united them
and is the best law for their state.

VII. REFERENCES
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/british_constitution1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://globaledge.msu.edu/
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/mcilw/mcilw.htm