Indonesia’s new criminal code introduces a slew of new laws, including prohibitions on sex outside of marriage, insulting the president, and expressing any opinion contrary to state ideology.
WHAT IS CONTROVERSIAL?
Among the most contentious articles are those that make sex outside of marriage a crime punishable by up to a year in prison. Cohabitation is also prohibited between unmarried couples. The laws have been watered down from an earlier version of the bill so that they can only be reported by certain people, such as the offenders’ spouse, parent, or child.
Nonetheless, critics are concerned that the laws will be used to police morality in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, which has seen a rise in religious conservatism in recent years. And, because they apply to foreigners as well, the laws may deter visitors, including those visiting Bali, a popular tourist destination. Adultery is currently prohibited in Indonesia, but premarital sex is not.
In addition, the articles that ban insulting the president or state institutions, blasphemy, protesting without notification and spreading views deemed to run counter to Indonesia’s secular state ideology have also raised fears about threats to freedom of expression and association.
An article on customary law has triggered concern that some sharia-inspired local bylaws could be replicated in other areas, reinforcing discrimination against women or LGBT groups.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESPONSE SO FAR?
The passage of the bill comes after earlier plans to pass a revised code were shelved in 2019 amid mass street protests across the archipelago over the threat to civil liberties. President Joko Widodo stepped in and put the process on hold.
But recent public opposition has been muted in comparison and parliament has revised some of the articles even though critics say the changes do not go far enough and describe the bill’s passage as a “huge setback” for Indonesia’s young democracy.
WHY HAS THE NEW CODE BEEN INTRODUCED?
Indonesia has been discussing revising its criminal code since declaring independence from the Dutch in 1945.Deputy justice minister, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, told Reuters ahead of the bill’s passage he was proud his country would have a criminal code “in line with Indonesian values” and it was time to move beyond its colonial-era laws.Indonesia’s population is predominantly Muslim but has sizeable groups of Hindus, Christians and people of other faiths. Most Indonesian Muslims practice a moderate version of Islam, but in recent years religious conservatism has crept into politics.The new code was passed with the support of all parties in the parliament, which is dominated by a large government coalition, and also Islamic parties and groups.Defending the passage of the bill against criticism, Indonesia’s Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly told parliament on Tuesday: “It’s not easy for a multicultural and multi-ethnic country to make a criminal code that can accommodate all interests.”