BREAKING: Jokowi dismisses Archandra over dual citizenship

By Godang Sitompul

President Joko Widodo has decided to dismiss Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arcandra Tahar as it has been proved that he holds a US citizenship, which makes him ineligible to be a minister.

?The President has decided to dismiss Arcandra Tahar as energy and mineral resources minister,? Minister of State Secretary Pratikno said.

The President will install Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs Luhut B. Panjaitan as interim Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources tomorrow (Tuesday), he added.

Rumors regarding his dual citizenship started circulating over the weekend, bringing the government into a panicky situation. As of Sunday, the rumor was neither confirmed nor denied by Arcandra and other Cabinet members. Rather than answering the question whether Arcandra has a US citizenship, Minister Pratkino said on Sunday the minister came to Indonesia using the Indonesian passport which is still valid. Meanwhile. Arcandra said, ?I am a Padangese so is my wife. I was raised and born in Padang (the capital of West Sumatra province). I went to the US for master and doctoral degrees.?.

On Monday, Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly confirmed that Arcandra holds two passports, American and Indonesian.

Under Law No. 12/2006 on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia, people are disallowed to have dual citizenship. If an Indonesia citizen acquires a foreign citizenship, he or she will have his or her Indonesian citizenship annulled. Meanwhile, Law No. 39/2008 on Ministries requires that a minister must be an Indonesian citizen.

Laoly said an annulment of citizenship must be formalized through a ministerial decree. ?I sign decrees each month on annulment and award of citizenship. As for Arcandra, I have yet to sign the annulment of his citizenship,? he said.

It is reported that Arcandra, an internationally-respected petroleum engineering expert, acquired the US citizenship back in 2012 but he still holds his Indonesian passport which is valid until 2017. He came back to Indonesia recently after living in the US for 20 years at the request of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) who considered his expertise is much needed by the country. He was installed a minster to replace Sudirman Said on July 27.

Arcandra, 46, was born and raised in Padang, West Sumatra province. He finished his primary and secondary schools in his hometown and pursued his study at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) where he received a bachelor degree in engineering, In 1996, two years after finishing his study at ITB, he went to the US to study at the prestigious Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas for master and doctoral degrees. After obtaining a PhD degree in ocean engineering, he lived in the US for 20 years during which he obtained patent rights for three petroleum technological inventions and has even developed a business for himself.

Several parties have concerns over Arcandra?s dual citizenship issue, saying it is evidence that the Jokowi did not carry a vetting process in selecting ministers in the recent reshuffle. It also remains unclear whether Arcandra told Jokowi that he holds a US citizenship prior to his appointment as minister.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon