President Joko Widodo speaks at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Dinner in Washington D.C. on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Right now, it is impossible for a citizen of Indonesia to also be the citizen of another country at the same time. But there is a possibility that may change in the future, possibly under President Joko Widodo’s administration.
During Jokowi’s abruptly-shortened trip to the U.S., he did have time to have a dialog session with members of the Indonesian diaspora in Washington D.C. on Sunday.
One of those attending the event, an Indonesian woman named Hanni who lives in Philadelphia, told the president that she was married to an American farmer and she has a child who is a U.S. citizen.
“My child is American and was born in the U.S. I am afraid that when my child returns to Indonesia, they can no longer be Indonesian. I want them to be able to have dual-citizenship,” Hanni said to thunderous applause from the audience, according to Tempo.
Hanni also said she has been monitoring the progress of a dual citizenship bill that is currently in the national legislation program of the House of Representative (DPR) and she hoped that the government would continue to push the bill forward.
President Jokowi responded by saying, “[The question] of Ibu Hanni of Philadelphia will be answered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, because we are asked the same question wherever we go.”
But he added, “I would like to push for [the bill] so that it can be resolved quickly.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno L. P. Marsudi then spoke up, saying the government has been discussing the bill and that there was some progress made in August during a meeting of Indonesian diaspora in Jakarta.
According to Retno, the government believes that overseas diaspora populations have great potential to support national development efforts.
“We must manage our existing assets well through strong cooperation. We will review it and I have also conveyed this to the Minister of Justice and Human Rights. If the president says so, then the direction is clear,” Retno said.
