Indonesian Chinese Diaspora, Dual Citizenship And Indonesian Development

Abstract

Indonesian Citizenship Law Policy, in accordance with Article 26 Paragraph (1)of the 1945 Constitution and Act Nr. 12/2006, is closed in nature and does not recognize dual citizenship. Community members of the Indonesian Chinese Diaspora who hold foreign nationalities do not have the legal standing to file applications to the Constitutional Court for constitutional review of Act Nr. 12/2006 in an effort to obtain Indonesian citizenship, because they are not Indonesian citizens. In order for an individual to be able to obtain Indonesian citizenship without losing his or her foreign nationality, the principle of dual citizenship must be applied within the Indonesian Citizenship Law Policy. This can happen if a legislative review on or an amendment to the act (in this case Act Nr. 12/2006 regarding the Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia) is conducted by Parliament. Thus the Government of the Republic of Indonesia must be absolutely sure and able to fully assure Parliament that Indonesia has a genuine need for the Indonesian Chinese Diaspora, because they have great potentials and can play an important role in Indonesia’s development, both in terms of the quality of human resources that have been proven and tested abroad, as well as the capital that can be invested in Indonesia.

Keywords

• indonesian diaspora
• dual citizenship
• constitutional review
• legislative review
• indonesian development