President Joko Widodo has appointed maritime affairs coordinating minister Luhut Pandjaitan to assume a double role as Indonesia’s new energy and mineral resources minister, replacing Arcandra Tahar who served in the post for just a few weeks. Arcandra had held the position for 19 days.
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Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Archandra Tahar, who was appointed as minister on July 27, was sacked from his position effective on Tuesday, Pratikno, secretary of state, announced.
“Responding to public questions regarding the citizenship status of Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arcandra Tahar, and after receiving information from various sources, the president made a decision to dismiss with honor Arcandra Tahar from his position”, said Pratikno, who uses one name.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, does not recognize dual citizenship for adults.
State-run news agency Antara previously reported that Archandra said he had surrendered his U.S. citizenship, and that he had an Indonesian passport, which was valid until 2017.
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Previously, both Arcandra and Pratikno dodged the rumors by repeatedly saying that Arcandra held an Indonesian passport, but not confirming whether he indeed had a United States passport.
