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House set to grant Indonesian citizenship to four foreign athletes
The House of Representatives agreed to grant Indonesian citizenship to four foreign athletes during a plenary meeting on Monday.
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Firefighters spray disinfectant at the House of Representatives complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Aug. 9 in the lead up to the House’s plenary meeting to mark Independence Day. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
The House of Representatives agreed to grant Indonesian citizenship to four foreign athletes during a plenary meeting on Monday.
The four athletes are basketball players Brandon Van Dorn Jawato from the United States, Kimberly Pierre Louis from Canada and Lester Prosper from Dominica, as well as soccer player Marc Anthony Klok from the Netherlands.
House Commission III overseeing legal affairs had received the athletes’ naturalization applications from Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly and Youth and Sports Minister Zainuddin Amali.
Yasonna said that the government supported the Youth and Sports Ministry’s request to grant citizenship for the athletes. He also stated that their presence in Indonesia’s national sports teams could contribute to more achievements out on the soccer pitch and on the basketball court.
“We still need talents from other countries who want to dedicate themselves to our nation,” Yasonna said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.
Youth and Sports Ministry secretary Gatot S. Dewa Broto explained that he would discuss the naturalization process with House Commission X overseeing sports. The recommendation from the commission will be discussed in the next plenary meeting.
The House speaker will send a letter to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who will later issue a decree. The next step would be for the athletes to take a citizenship pledge at the appointed Law and Human Rights Ministry office.
“To answer when the process will be completed, it depends on the schedule for a working meeting with Commission X,” Gatot said in a statement received by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
