Yusril: Government Awaits DPR to Finalise Asset Forfeiture Bill
The government, in this case the Coordinating Minister for Legal, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra, has deferred to the DPR RI regarding deliberations on the Asset Forfeiture Bill. However, Minister Yusril has urged the DPR to exercise caution in drafting the bill.
“The government is simply waiting for the DPR to finish drafting its initiative bill. Once it is ready, the President will appoint a minister to deliberate the bill through to completion. At present, the government is not in a position to comment on the drafting process currently under way in the DPR,” Yusril said when contacted on Wednesday (15/7/2026).
He asked the DPR to pay heed to Article 28G paragraph 1 and Article 28D paragraph 1 of the 1945 Constitution. In addition, he reminded that the Asset Forfeiture Bill must be based on the new Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP).
“The drafting of this bill must also refer to the new KUHAP as the general provisions of criminal procedure law,” he said.
Yusril also cautioned that the Asset Forfeiture Bill must not give rise to abuse of power. Asset forfeiture, he said, must await a court verdict.
“Yes, we must not allow arbitrariness and abuse of power. If assets are seized, the aim is to secure them. Wait for the court verdict. If the defendant is found guilty, the seized evidence is executed and forfeited to the state. If not proven, the assets are returned to the defendant,” he explained.
“If assets are forfeited first, but the court verdict finds no guilt, then what happens? If the assets are in the form of money, for instance, and have already been forfeited and deposited into the state treasury, how do you return them?” he continued.
For that reason, Yusril urged the DPR RI to be careful in drafting the bill so that it does not violate the principle of justice and human rights.
“This bill requires great precision and caution in its preparation so that it does not run counter to the principles of justice, legal certainty and the guarantee of human rights protection,” he added.
DPR Commission III Presses Ahead with Asset Forfeiture Bill Deliberations
Commission III of the DPR RI has continued deliberations on the Asset Forfeiture Bill. The Chairman of Commission III, Habiburokhman, affirmed that his side would deliberate the bill as thoroughly as possible.
Habiburokhman conveyed this during a Public Hearing (RDPU) with the Indonesian Advocates Association (Peradi). He dismissed suggestions that Commission III of the DPR was rejecting deliberations on the Asset Forfeiture Bill.
“We are pressing ahead at full throttle on the drafting of the Asset Forfeiture Bill, so it is not true when people say the DPR refuses to deliberate the Asset Forfeiture Bill. In fact, we have brought in the best advocates, who understand law enforcement in Indonesia extremely well, to give their opinions,” Habiburokhman said at a meeting in the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday (13/7).
Habiburokhman assured that Commission III of the DPR was deliberating the bill almost every day. The Deputy Chairman of the Gerindra Party said the deliberations were important because the Asset Forfeiture Bill is an entirely new piece of legislation.
“Why do we need to listen as much as possible to the aspirations of many people regarding this law? Why? Because this is something new. We are not drafting an amendment to an existing law, but creating a new law based on new thinking as well,” he said.