[Kabar-indonesia] JP: Citizenship law implementation being finalized

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post
Monday, October 9, 2006

Govt finalizing implementation of citizenship law 

Adisti Sukma Sawitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The much applauded Citizenship Law passed in July is yet to be workable 
because it lacks the necessary ancillary government regulations.

The absence of the regulations has sparked complaints from transnational 
couples who have long hung their hopes on benefiting from the law. 

Two new ministerial decrees issued in connection with the law did not detail 
fees for services to obtain Indonesian citizenship. 

The law has been warmly welcomed by transnational couples because it 
recognizes a child born to an Indonesian mother married to a foreigner as an 
Indonesian citizen until the child reaches the age of 18, when the child can choose his 
or her citizenship. In the past, the child would automatically take on the 
father's citizenship. 

Head of KPC Melati (Melati transnational marriage community), Enggi Holt, 
said that although the Justice and Human Rights Ministry had guaranteed 
Indonesian citizenship for children of transnational couples, the administrative 
procedures to obtain the papers remained tangled in corrupt practices. 

"We highly praise the government's effort to enact the law, but without 
clear-cut technical guidelines to implement it, those regulations wouldn't mean 
much to us," she said when attending a gathering to break the fast at the 
ministry last week. 

The ministry has issued two regulations regarding applications for Indonesian 
citizenship, including granting Indonesian citizenship to children of 
transnational couples and the status of Indonesians who have resided abroad for an 
extended period. 

The regulations stipulate that Indonesians who have lost their citizenship 
because they neglected to report to the Indonesian missions abroad for more than 
five years can reapply for Indonesian citizenship after filling out forms 
made available at Indonesian embassies and consulates abroad. 

Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin said that the ministry was 
still drafting several other supporting regulations, including ones on fees 
required for citizenship registration. 

"We are revising our non-tax income regulation so that it mentions the fees 
to obtain Indonesian citizenship," he said. 

He urged all transnational couples to report to the authorities any corrupt 
practices they experience when dealing with government officials. He said the 
law also mandates legal actions against corrupt officials. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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