The government is looking to reinstate Arcandra's status through the 2006 Law on citizenship, but his politically charged case may encounter difficulties in obtaining approval at the House of Representatives, an international law expert from the University of Indonesia, Hikmahanto Juwana, said on Friday.

"It may be solved at the government level, but it would still need to be considered at the House," Hikmahanto said in reference to the law, which grants Indonesian citizenship to foreigners who have provided good services or achieved extraordinary achievements for the country, without naturalization.

However, Arcandra's case is politically sensitive and affiliations to different factions at the House could dissuade members from approving, he said.

Hikmahanto urged the government to be fair in granting citizenship and not push for a swift amendment due to a political agenda, such as to reinstate him as minister. 

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo dismissed Arcandra with honor on Monday following the revelation that he held US citizenship after spending 20 years there as an oil executive. Law and Human Rights Ministry official Freddy Haris said on Thursday that the ministry had started the process to reinstate Arcandra's Indonesian citizenship status within a week. (rin)

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