Jakarta. The long-anticipated asset forfeiture bill will not be passed into law by the current House of Representatives despite mounting pressure from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, a senior lawmaker confirmed on Sunday.

The bill, initially drafted during Megawati Soekarnoputri's presidency in the early 2000s and formally proposed to the House during Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's tenure, has faced numerous delays. With President Jokowi’s second term nearing its end in less than two months, his calls for immediate action have fallen on a deaf ear.

Ahmad Sahroni, the deputy chairman of the House’s Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, explained that the current lawmakers simply do not have the time to finalize the bill.

“Our legislative term is ending soon, so the bill will have to be carried over to the next House term,” Sahroni told reporters in Jakarta.

While acknowledging President Jokowi’s push for swift action, Sahroni, a member of the National Democratic Party (Nasdem), said that the remaining time is insufficient to pass the bill before the current House term ends.

Furthermore, Sahroni indicated his own reservations about enacting the bill quickly, citing the legal principle that criminal prosecution should be a last resort.

The newly elected lawmakers are set to be sworn in on October 1.

President Jokowi has proposed the asset forfeiture bill multiple times, most recently in May last year. The bill, originally suggested by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), aims to provide law enforcement with a solid legal foundation to confiscate assets from convicted corruptors and recover state losses.

The proposal was inspired by the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). The bill was first brought to the House during the 2005-2009 term but has since been mired in debate without significant progress toward becoming law.

Add as a preferred source on Google +