September 2, 2025 | 07:50 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The deputy chair of the Legislative Body of the House of Representatives (DPR), Sturman Panjaitan, said lawmakers are exercising caution while drafting the Asset Forfeiture Bill. According to him, the previous draft had shortcomings.
The PDIP politician also must ensure that the instrument will not overlap with other regulations. "Regulations must align with one another to avoid contradiction," he said at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
He hopes that the Asset Forfeiture Bill will not miss its target. Therefore, he emphasizes that DPR must be cautious. "Do not let unnecessary individuals have their assets seized," he said.
Sturman emphasizes that the parliament is working as hard as possible to discuss the Asset Forfeiture Bill. Currently, the legislative body is awaiting the academic script from the DPR Expert Body. He hopes that the Asset Seizure Bill can be established as an initiative proposal of the DPR this year. "We will first draft the bill, then propose it to the leaders to be deliberated into a proposal of the Indonesian Parliament," he said.
The Asset Forfeiture Bill is deemed necessary to help strip perpetrators of a crime of their wealth, including corruptors. However, this draft law has been lying around for more than a decade.
The Asset Forfeiture Bill was first initiated by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) in 2008. The discussion was taken over by the then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government. In December 2011, the draft law was handed over to SBY and its academic script began to be harmonized.
It was only in 2015, during President Jokowi's term, that this bill entered the National Legislation Program. However, until 2020, there was no discussion of the bill in the DPR. In January 2021, PPATK again prepared a draft law. The government asked for the bill to be included in the National Legislation Program, but it was rejected by the DPR.
The October 9, 2021 edition of Tempo magazine titled "Barang Panas Perampas Aset," or "A Heated Debate over Hot Assets," reported that the Minister of Law at that time, Yasonna Laoly, had submitted the draft of the Asset Forfeiture Bill to the DPR on September 15, 2021. However, the factions objected because the submission was considered too sudden and without prior consultation with the party leaders.
PDIP DPR member, Utut Adianto, at that time, stated that the approval of the party chair was needed because that rule was considered a 'hot item' that could be misused to target political opponents.
If passed, the Asset Forfeiture Bill could become a tool for the government to seize assets suspected of being derived from illegal activities without waiting for a legally binding court decision. Asset owners must prove that their assets were obtained legally.
As a result, Yasonna's proposal for the bill to be included as a priority in the 2021 National Legislation Program was rejected by the DPR. Since then, there has been no news about the bill, until it was mentioned during Prabowo Subianto's campaign during the 2024 Presidential Election.
Then, on International Labor Day, Prabowo expressed his support for the formulation of the Asset Forfeiture Bill. According to him, the bill is an effort to combat corruptors and save the country's wealth.
Editor’s Choice: Prabowo Renews Call for Asset Forfeiture Bill
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