He made the suggestion since the bill on asset forfeiture is yet to be passed in the House of Representatives (DPR RI).
"If he desires a quicker ratification (of the Asset Forfeiture Bill) and is convinced that there is a compelling urgency, the President can resubmit the Asset Forfeiture Bill in the form of government regulation in lieu of law under the reason of compelling urgency, as the government usually does," Wahid said, according to a statement issued here on Friday.
The parliament has not passed the Asset Forfeiture Bill because the government has not completed the bill draft yet, despite the urgent need for such a bill to address several financial cases, such as alleged irregular transactions worth Rp349 trillion at a government ministry, he added.
Acknowledging the urgent need for the law, the deputy speaker advised the government to complete the draft bill for approval by the parliament, or issue a government regulation in lieu of the law that can be ratified as law later.
"It can be promptly ratified by an absolute majority of parties and factions in the DPR RI," he stated.
Wahid then highlighted the need for law enforcers to commit to utilizing the legal instrument and enforcing the law without hesitation later, besides advocating for the passing of the Asset Forfeiture Bill.
The deputy speaker said the reason for his concern is that so far, similar laws have been passed by the parliament but have been seldom used by law enforcers. A law on the prevention and eradication of money laundering passed in 2010 suffered this exact fate, he pointed out.
"Hence, the regulation needed in the form of Asset Forfeiture Bill must be consistent with efforts to advance reform on law enforcement and law enforcers in Indonesia to ensure the bill's purposes would be realized," Wahid said.
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Translator: Putu Indah S, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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