Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the government might have rushed through the administrative process in Arcandra Tahar's appointment as energy czar. The minister was sacked on Monday (15/08) reportedly for holding a US passport which by law cancels out his Indonesian citizenship. (Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Jakarta. A Singaporean foreign ministry spokesman responded on Saturday (23/04) to an article published by several Indonesian media outlets, quoting Vice President Jusuf Kalla as saying that the city-state refuses to sign an extradition treaty with the archipelago.

"The article quoted Vice President Jusuf Kalla as stating that Singapore 'never wants to sign' an extradition agreement with Indonesia, and that 'hopefully, Singapore will change its outlook and will be willing to sign an extradition [agreement]', which are incorrect and misleading," the Singaporean foreign ministry statement said.

Indonesia and Singapore signed an extradition treaty and defense cooperation pact in Bali in April 2007 during Kalla's previous term as vice president. The signing of the package was witnessed by then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Both agreements are currently pending ratification by Indonesia's House of Representatives. Last year, the House proposed a discussion on the draft law on extradition, which included ratification of the agreement with Singapore.

The Singaporean foreign ministry spokesman said the city-state is prepared to proceed with both agreements once Indonesia is ready to do so.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) previously also called for the completion of the draft law to prevent more convicts from fleeing abroad.

The draft is included in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) 2015-2019 as the government's proposal along with two other draft laws on asset forfeiture and mutual assistance when dealing with criminal activities.