Receive Applications For Naturalization Of Candidates For Indonesian National Team Players Kemenkumham Immediately Decide Eligible Or Not

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham) has received a letter of recommendation for the naturalization of three football athletes from the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora). They are Sandy Henny Walsh, Jordi Amat Maas, and Shayne Elian Jay Pattynama.

The Director of State Administration of the Directorate General of General Legal Administration (Ditjen AHU) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Baroto explained that the Ministry of Law and Human Rights will conduct an examination and research on the application for citizenship of the three players.

In terms of naturalization, according to him, Indonesia has a special rule, namely Law (UU) Number 12 of 2006 concerning Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia.

"We do not arbitrarily do naturalization. There needs to be accountability to the community. We filter, screen, that they deserve to be given the status of Indonesian citizens," explained Baroto when he was a speaker at the Consignment Examination and Research on Citizenship Applications at The Westin Hotel Jakarta, Friday 18 March.

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights, in this case the Directorate General of AHU, will conduct in-depth verification of the applicant's required documents, as well as strengthening the synergy between government agencies in providing citizenship services. In this case, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI).

“The (citizenship) process is not only seen from the formal legal aspect. But also others. In the naturalization of the three footballers, we will coordinate with PSSI and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to determine whether they deserve to be naturalized or not," he explained.

Verification is done because not just anyone can be naturalized. There must be services or other considerations of national interest that can be used as a reason for the person to be naturalized. This is regulated in Article 20 of Law Number 12 of 2006.

The article states that a foreigner who has rendered services to the Republic of Indonesia or for reasons of state interest may be granted Indonesian Citizenship by the President after receiving consideration from the DPR, provided that the granting of citizenship does not result in the person concerned becoming a dual citizen.

"The process of citizenship is not an easy thing," said Baroto. "We have to prove that the process we are carrying out is a credible person and can provide achievements for domestic sports," he added.

To note, Sandy Henny Walsh is a player who is used to playing in Belgium, and often plays in European tournaments. Jordi Amat Maas has played in the first tier of the Spanish League with over 150 games, played in the English Premiere League over 50 games, and played as captain at his current club, Belgium's KAS Eupen.

Meanwhile, Shayne Elian Jay Pattynama is a player who is used to playing in the Netherlands and Norway. He is a player who can play in any position.