The new criminal code applies to both citizens and foreigners living in Indonesia alike, raising concerns whether the new laws will be disastrous for the country’s tourism sector. Read this report of Arnav Jha…
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Indonesian lawmakers unanimously approved the new penal Code Has agreed to. among other things in the new law extra marital affair That is, there is a provision of punishment of up to one year for having sex outside marriage. new criminal code Indonesia This applies to both citizens and foreigners living in the country alike, raising concerns whether the new laws will be disastrous for the country’s tourism sector.
Critics of the law, including local newspapers and rights groups, have expressed concern that the new law will lead Indonesia down a path of authoritarianism and fundamentalism. Even foreign governments have expressed concern over the passage of this law. Expressing Washington’s concern, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the new laws could affect “the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Indonesia”.
Penal Code not limited to premarital sex only
Although the provision of the new law that criminalises adultery has attracted the most attention so far, there is much more to Indonesia’s new criminal code. The Penal Code restores the ban imposed earlier in the case of contempt of the President, Vice President of the country and the institutions of the country. This means that speaking against them will now be considered a crime. Apart from this, the new law also bans the expression of any idea that opposes the national ideology in Indonesia. Insulting the President is an offense that can only be reported by the President, and is now punishable by up to three years in prison.
Contraceptive use also illegal
Apart from all these things, according to the Criminal Code, abortion is also a crime. However, in medical circumstances where the pregnancy is life-threatening to the mother and in cases of rape, it has been kept apart. The new code also bans explicit promotion of contraceptive methods. The code also prohibits the practice of ‘black magic’. The new amendment also prohibits the open promotion of contraceptive methods. This code also bans the practice of ‘black magic’.
As for the law banning sex outside marriage, the new law passed by Indonesian lawmakers actually dilutes the previous law and limits the number of people who can report people who engage in premarital sex. Huh. Under the new law, the ‘offence’ of sex outside marriage can only be reported by a parent, spouse or child of the suspected offender.
The purpose of the new law is to ‘protect the institution of marriage and Indonesian values,’ according to Albert Aries, a spokesman for the country’s justice ministry. This will protect the privacy of the community. It is able to protect the privacy of the community and at the same time negates the rights of the public or other third parties to report such matters on the basis of ethics. As mentioned earlier, this aspect of the law also applies to foreign nationals, tourists and those living and working in Indonesia. It is to be noted that the new penal code will not come into force for three years so that rules can be made before it is implemented.
argument and resentment
The new criminal code is the latest attempt by Indonesian lawmakers to replace the legal framework in place since the country’s independence in 1946, which is a mix of colonial-era Dutch laws, customary laws called ‘hukum adat’ and modern Indonesian laws. The last attempt to change the criminal code in 2019 had to be stopped amid student protests across the country.
Although there have been no large-scale protests against the new criminal code so far, the law has been criticized by many people in Indonesia and outside since the code was passed. Indonesian news organizations and journalists have underlined that the new penal code will make journalism more difficult as it makes it a crime to criticize government institutions and to ‘spread communism’ and criticize Indonesia’s national ideology.
Even if the matter of journalism is left out, it will not be easy to protest against the new penal code in Indonesia. This may allow the authorities to crack down on any and all forms of dissent against the government under the guise of a criminal act.
In relation to outlawing sex outside married people, critics have said that this measure is an authoritarian approach to interfere in the private life of citizens. There are also concerns that the law will be used to specifically target the LGBT community in Indonesia, where same-sex marriage is illegal.
In the end, critics have also pointed out that the new law has increased the problems of the tourism sector. Perhaps the law makers of the country have paid very little attention to this issue. Indonesia has always been heavily dependent on tourism earnings to boost its economy. The new criminal codes are hurting the country’s tourism industry at a time when Indonesia’s tourism sector is trying to recover from the devastation caused by the Covid era.
Maulana Yusran, deputy head of the Tourism Board of Indonesia, said in two words that ‘we deeply regret that the government has turned a blind eye. We have already expressed our concern to the Ministry of Tourism that how harmful this law is. In addition to the tourism industry, US Ambassador to Indonesia Sung Kim said in his speech at an investment summit that the passage of the penal code would also affect foreign investment and business opportunities for Indonesia. He said that ‘this will have a big impact for companies determining whether to invest in Indonesia’.
Indonesia’s Law and Human Rights Minister Yasona Laoli said in a press conference on Tuesday that it was not easy for a multicultural and multi-ethnic country like Indonesia to make a penal code keeping everyone’s interests in mind. He also said that the dissatisfied parties can file a petition for judicial review in the Constitutional Court.
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