Jakarta (ANTARA) - Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly confirmed that Orient P. Riwu Kore, District Head-elect of Sabu Raijua in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, is a US passport holder and additionally has an Indonesian passport.
"Kore's US passport will expire in 2027 and his Indonesian passport in April 2024," Laoly remarked during a hearing with Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR) here on Wednesday.
The ministry's Directorate General of Legal and General Administration received this confirmation from Kore personally during a telephonic conversation some time back, Laoly remarked.
The minister noted that Kore was married to a US citizen and has a child, who works as a US soldier, while Kore also works on a strategic project in the US.
"Hence, this allows him to get US citizenship more easily," Laoly, a PDI-P politician, pointed out.
On February 16, 2021, the General Election Commission (KPU), Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu), Honorary Council of Election Administrators, Ministry of Home Affairs, NTT Regional Police, Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, and Directorate General of Legal and General Administration, held a coordination meeting to discuss the status of Kore.
They later held another meeting and concurred on postponing the inauguration of Kore as the head of Sabu Raijua District in 2020 owing to his dual citizenship status.
Citing the Indonesian Citizenship Law, Laoly noted that a person, who obtains foreign citizenship, will lose his Indonesian citizenship status, and Indonesia does not adopt a dual citizenship system for its adult citizens in line with Law No. 12 of 2006.
Kore won the district head seat during the simultaneous regional head elections (Pilkada) held on December 9, 2020.
