Observer Urges Asset Forfeiture Bill Working Group to Ensure Transparency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Oce Madril, executive director of the Association for the Study of Government Law and Anti-Corruption (Pushan), has urged the working group (Panja) on the Asset Forfeiture Bill to ensure transparency in drafting the legislation, including by making the latest draft available to the public.

“Now that there is a working group, I think the latest draft should be made public so people can see what has become of the input that was discussed at length earlier,” Oce told ANTARA in Jakarta on Monday.

He said publication of the draft was needed so the public could understand how various submissions made during the earlier public consultation process had been incorporated into the latest version of the bill.

Oce said the bill’s drafting process had involved many parties. The legislative procedures under the national legislation programme had also been completed, so attention should now turn to the substance of the latest draft.

He added that the working group needed to ensure the bill included provisions to prevent law enforcement officials from abusing their authority. Powers relating to asset forfeiture should be balanced by adequate oversight mechanisms.

“We must not let this drafting process create new fraud. We must not let new legal mafias emerge. That is what we want to ensure,” he said.

Regarding the target of completing the Asset Forfeiture Bill by 15 December 2026, Oce said the deadline was not excessively rushed, given that discussions had been under way for a long time.

At an internal meeting on Monday, House of Representatives Commission III agreed to establish a working group for the Asset Forfeiture Bill. The group is chaired by Habiburokhman, who also leads the commission responsible for law enforcement.

Habiburokhman said the working group had agreed to accelerate public hearing schedules so the bill could be passed by 15 December 2026 at the latest.