Fajarasia.co – The Indonesian House of Representatives approved the naturalization of two football players who will strengthen the Indonesian national team, Jordi Amat Maas and Sandy Henny Walsh. The chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, hopes that granting Indonesian citizenship to the two footballers will improve the achievements of the Indonesian national team.
“Congratulations to Jordi Amat Maas and Sandy Henny Walsh for obtaining naturalization approval. The DPR hopes that the granting of citizenship can strengthen the Indonesian National Team so that the Garuda Team will be more successful,” said Puan, Tuesday (20/9/2022).
Jordi and Sandy’s naturalization approval was taken at the Plenary Session of the DPR today. Previously, the two footballers had undergone a number of procedures, including the approval stage by Commission III of the DPR.
Jordi and Sandy attended a working meeting between Commission III of the DPR with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkum HAM), the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora), and PSSI. Present virtually wearing batik, Jordi and Sandy conveyed their greetings and recited Pancasila in Indonesian.
According to Puan, the granting of citizenship through this mechanism is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of Law Number 12 of 2006 concerning Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia.
The granting of citizenship to Jordi and Sandy is based on the interests of the state or the extraordinary services of a person so that the state can grant citizenship to him, namely achievements in the field of sports.
“We have several times given naturalization to athletes with satisfactory results,” said Puan.
Jordi is known to have Indonesian ancestry from a grandmother who was born in Makassar. Meanwhile, Sandy has Indonesian ancestry from the mother’s side, namely his grandfather who was born in Surabaya and his grandmother in Purworejo.
Although both currently play for clubs abroad, Jordi and Sandy have already participated in training with the Indonesian national team. The government proposed naturalization by ensuring that both of them were ready to compete with the Garuda Team to defend Indonesia in the world football competition.
Jordi and Sandy are prepared to strengthen the Indonesian national team in the 2023 Asian Cup, and are targeted to take to the field with Team Garuda in the FIFA Match Day match against Curacao on September 24 and 27. Puan prays for the success of the Indonesian National Team.
“Naturalization, which is processed through the approval of the DPR, is the right step to support national sports achievements. We hope that success in the field of sports can further bring Indonesia’s name in the international arena,” said the first woman who served as Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
In addition to naturalization, Puan asked the Government to continue to improve sports coaching so that athletes are able to continue to make achievements at the world level.
“We hope that the Central Government can encourage local governments to pay more attention to the world of sports by allocating a proportional budget,” said Puan.
The former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture alluded to Law 11 of 2022 concerning Sports which was recently passed by the DPR in February. The Sports Law, said Puan, regulates the issue of sports coaching since the athlete’s nursery which requires a lot of funding.
“The Sports Law regulates the design of national sports (DBON), including at the regional level. So the local government must have a role in the management and development of sports which will have an impact on the quality and achievements of national sports,” he explained.
The issue of DBON is also regulated in Presidential Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpres) Number 86 of 2021. The regulation contains the direction of national sports coaching and development policies that are carried out effectively, efficiently, superior, measurable, systematic, accountable, and sustainable in the scope of sports education, sports recreation, achievement sports, and the sports industry.
“DBON needs to be embodied in every sport. Not only those who have the potential to win at the international level, but also sports development for the younger generation as early as possible as an effort to attract superior seeds,” said Puan.
“Because this is a long-term goal to produce future generations who have excellent physical and mental health so that they are able to build a glorious Indonesia,” added the grandson of the Indonesian Proclaimer Bung Karno.***
