JAKARTA, LITERASIHUKUM.COM — The Constitutional Court (MK) stated that it cannot accept a petition requesting a change in the nomenclature of “Sumatera Selatan” to “Sumatra Selatan”. The Constitutional Court petition was submitted by Insan Kamil and Andhita Putri Maharani, and decided in case Number 57 of PUU-XXIV of 2026 on Monday (16/3/2026). According to the Constitutional Court, the petitioner do not have the legal standing to submit the said review.

In the consideration read by the Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Saldi Isra, the Court assessed that the reasons for constitutional loss submitted by the petitioners did not meet the requirements. Both elaborated on their concrete experiences as language ambassadors, but the Constitutional Court stated that the description did not have a direct connection with the requirement of constitutional rights loss. The Court also highlighted the absence of evidence that the petitioners had previously conveyed the issue of the difference in spelling between “Sumatera” and “Sumatra” to the regional government or lawmakers.

This case has attracted attention from the beginning because the object of the lawsuit is not criminal, election, or state institutional norms, but the spelling of the province's name in Law Number 9 of 2023 concerning South Sumatra Province. During the trial process, the petitioners, who are Language…