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A veteran actor-cum-activist famous for painting protest slogans on the roof of the legislature appeared at the Constitutional Court on Wednesday seeking to wrest the power to dissolve political parties from the government’s hands.

Pong Hardjatmo, a constant presence in Indonesian films since the 1970s, asked for a judicial review of a Constitutional Court article that says that the government alone has the power to disband political parties.

“It is the people who vote for a political party but after the party wins, why do the people seem to lose the right to control them?” Pong told the court.  

“What if the government in power currently comes from a troubled political party? Then it will be less likely for the government to disband his own party.”

Pong and his associates’ legal representative, Wakil Kamal, said that the public should have a role in judging if a political party is detrimental to the country.

The court said it would examine the request for review.

Pong, 68, made headlines last year after he climbed onto the roof of the House of Representatives’ building in Jakarta and spray painted it in a protest against the government’s lack of democratic progress.

The actor said his actions were based on his disappointment with the House and the government.

A month later, he held a solo protest in front of the Presidential Palace to throw the spotlight on the government’s lack of efficacy in stemming the wave of gas explosions throughout Indonesia.