TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla has finally spoken out about the controversy surrounding the issue of dual citizenship that ultimately caused the sacking of the Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, Arcandra Tahar. According to Kalla, dual citizenship could be beneficial for Indonesia.
"There are so many Indian nationals who could legally work in the United States (US), in major companies such as Google and Microsoft, because their constitutions allow for dual citizenship," said the Vice President at the Vice President's Palace on Friday, August 19, 2016.
Kalla explained that the by allowing dual citizenship through our constitution, Indonesian nationals could legally work abroad without having to lose their status as Indonesian citizens. Conversely, Indonesia does not need to worry as Indonesians with dual citizenships could be recalled to Indonesia, to serve for the country when the need arises.
To illustrate his point, Kalla used the example of Indian and Singaporean nationals - who have the freedom to work in multinational companies where the companies are based, but are still recognised as de jure citizens, because their constitutions does not limit their nationals to one citizenship status.
"Here's the problem - if we choose to stick with our constitution [that does not allow for an Indonesian national to hold any other citizenship status abroad], we stand to risk losing our most talented individuals, as to them, becoming a citizen of another state other than Indonesia has its' own benefits that Indonesia may not be able to offer for the time being," said Kalla.
That said, Kalla also said that there has been no further talks between the Government and the House of Representatives regarding the issue of allowing dual citizenship status. However, Kalla continued to stress the benefit of dual citizenship status - as it will allow talented Indonesians to contribute to Indonesia, no matter where they are based and/or registered.
Previously, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that the government has already begun to mull to revise Indonesia's existing Citizenship Law. That said, Pramono has yet to be able to provide any further details about when and what will be discussed in the meeting - and whether it will discuss the possibility of allowing Indonesians to hold a dual citizenship status.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs, Wiranto, has also asked all stakeholders to considering the pros and cons of allowing dual citizenships for Indonesia - as there are fears that allowing dual citizenship will have an adverse effect on the discourse of nationalism among Indonesians.
ISTMAN MP
