Parliament Meeting: Students Urge No Rushed Discussion on Asset Forfeiture Bill
Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) held a meeting with the Indonesian Law Students Association (Permahi) to discuss the Asset Forfeiture Bill. During the opportunity, Permahi requested that Commission III not rush the discussion of the Asset Forfeiture Bill.
This was conveyed by the General Secretary of Permahi’s National Board, Muhammad Afghan Ababil, during the meeting with Commission III of the DPR RI in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4/2026). The meeting was directly chaired by the Chairman of Commission III, Habiburokhman.
He initially stated that his side requested the Asset Forfeiture Bill to be discussed comprehensively.
“In this regard, we highlight the enthusiasm of Commission III in carrying out legal reforms, particularly related to asset forfeiture, which in this case is included as a special legislative priority. We find that this bill needs to be discussed comprehensively, in depth, and also ensuring that the bill is built on normative studies with a strong legal argumentation basis, ensuring that the normative guidelines contained therein are based on Constitutional Court decisions that include the principle of in persona as the basis of argumentation and also in rem as supporting material which in this case becomes a special part,” said Afghan during the meeting.
He also advised against any overlapping regulations following the establishment of the Asset Forfeiture Law. Therefore, he requested that this bill not be discussed in a hurry.
“Thus, we hope that this discussion is not just rushed to accommodate public demands, but as legal scholars, we may push for this discussion to be comprehensive. Because we believe that good legal development is not just about legal substance to accommodate those demands; how this legal substance can exist for 10, 20, even 100 years ahead as a guiding norm and also an umbrella regulation for us in the future,” he stated.
Commission III DPR Promises Detailed Discussion
In response to the students’ demands, Commission III member Machfud Arifin assured that the Asset Forfeiture Bill would be discussed in detail. He emphasised that regulations cannot be made arbitrarily.
“So, there are many expectations, many demands for this to be realised immediately. But of course, we must also respect the rights of every citizen who may be suspected of committing a crime. Well, this was already discussed yesterday; the formulation must be detailed. We cannot be arbitrary,” said Arifin.
He also understood the public’s desire for any corruptor to be simply impoverished. However, he said that desire must be discussed further.
“The demands from all parties are broad, wanting everything to be confiscated and them simply impoverished. For example, someone may have been a lawyer for over 20 years, then appointed as an official, for instance. Then there is a problem there; not all assets owned from 20 years of work should be wiped out. That’s not it,” he explained.
“We will discuss this in detail. This input enriches the society’s demands and those from Permahi earlier, as well as the expectations desired in the law; that is part of our enrichment in Commission III for the next discussion,” he continued.