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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has repeatedly expressed his intention to bring home Indonesian talents, but government officials seem to have no idea how to relax the strict citizenship laws that have dissuaded many Indonesians from returning from overseas.

Almost a year after Jokowi said he would push for allowing dual citizenship, and two weeks after being forced to fire one of his ministers for holding a US passport, the President has yet to come up with concrete legal measures to give foreign nationals of Indonesian descent greater freedom to serve the country.

Although a number of political factions at the House of Representatives have opened up the possibility of revising the 2006 Citizenship Law to legalize dual nationality, the government has yet to initiate a deliberation, with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest pro-government party, strongly opposing the move.

Amid the government’s inaction, Ira Natapradja has attempted to challenge the Citizenship Law at the Constitutional Court. Ira’s daughter Gloria Natapradja Hamel grabbed media attention recently after she was banned from a flag-hoisting ceremony because she holds a French passport and failed to register as an Indonesian national after the law was enacted in 2006.

The reason behind Ira’s legal move was that she feared other children could experience similar incidents, her lawyer Fahmi Bachmid said on Thursday. But Ira later withdrew the petition, saying she hoped her daughter would obtain Indonesian citizenship when she turned 18.

Presidential spokesman Johan Budi has admitted that the government is challenged by the issue, saying “there have been no efforts” yet to relax dual citizenship rules.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono earlier said that although the option of relaxing regulations was on the table, there was yet to be a plan on how to resolve the issue.

“We think we should find a solution [to this], but as of today there are no formal [agreements] on what we are going to do,” he said.

While the situation seems discouraging, Indonesian Diaspora Network member Mey Hasibuan tried to look on the bright side.

She said she acknowledged that the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s General Law Administration (AHU) office and the Foreign Ministry were making still efforts to create better protection for the rights of members of the diaspora.

For instance, both ministries had made room for dialogue regarding diaspora issues, she said.

The AHU office has also continued to raise public awareness about dual citizenship for children under 18, while the Foreign Ministry is mulling to introducing a so-called Diaspora Card, which could provide ease for Indonesians and former Indonesian citizens wanting to do business in the archipelago.

“Actually, our demand for dual citizenship covers only the diaspora, their children [without time limits] and maybe their grandchildren,” Mey said, adding that members of the diaspora still hoped the government would relax citizenship rules.

If the government could ensure facilities and rights such as unrestricted residency, opportunities to do business and the right to work in Indonesia, the solution could take the form of non-full citizenship like Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), she added.

The issue came to a head in recent weeks when it became known that former energy minister Arcandra Tahar possessed a US passport at the time of his appointment. However, it was Gloria’s case that drew public attention to the problem.