Indonesia does not recognize dual citizenship, citing security reasons, but government officials and a number of legislators claim the current legislation prevents talented Indonesians who have lived abroad and may have foreign citizenship from contributing to their native land.

In his address to hundreds of Indonesian high achievers from various fields at the State Palace on Thursday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he had invited 74 Indonesian professors living in the US, some of whom may already hold US citizenship, to return and help his administration develop the country.

“I don’t want our people who have succeeded [abroad] being taken by other countries because we don’t use them. [I also don’t want to see] them moving to another country because the environment in our country is not welcoming to them,” he said, adding that 24 of the 74 professors had accepted his invitation.

“We are now seeing a trend in which talented Indonesians go to developed countries to seek experience and improve their capabilities, and some of them want to return to their homeland,” Vice President Jusuf Kalla said separately at the House of Representatives.

The government and the House would have to hold a meeting to discuss the issue, including the possibility of revising the 2006 law on citizenship, Kalla said.

Indonesian expatriates have long been pushing for a revision of the law so that the country could allow dual nationality.

In October last year, President Jokowi told Indonesians in the US during a meeting at the residence of Indonesian ambassador to the US Budi Bowoleksono that he would back efforts to allow dual nationality. But neither the government nor the House had followed up on Jokowi’s pledge until the controversy erupted over Arcandra’s appointment as a minister in the latest Cabinet reshuffle.

The bill containing revisions to the 2006 Citizenship Law has been included on the long-list of the 2014-2019 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), but the House has not started its deliberation as it is waiting for the government’s initiative.

House Speaker Ade Komarudin of the Golkar Party said the House would likely revise the Prolegnas list and drop bills that were not urgently needed to make room for the discussion on the citizenship bill, even though he had not yet talked about it with the President.

“We can [revise] all bills deemed as important, but we will discuss it with Baleg [the House Legislation Body] to determine which bills are worth prioritizing,” Ade said.

Golkar is among the political parties that support a revision of the Citizenship Law, along with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Democratic Party, National Mandate Party (PAN) and United Development Party (PPP).

The remaining factions in the House, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) — the leader of the pro-government coalition — the NasDem Party, the Hanura Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB), oppose the plan.

Those who object to the revision argue that compromising citizenship regulations could jeopardize national interests.

The government is now seeking input from various sources on the feasibility of dual-citizenship solutions as demanded by members of the Indonesian diaspora, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said. “The government and the House will sit together to discuss it,” he added.

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