6 December (UPI) A contentious new criminal code that criminalizes having sex outside of marriage, spreading false information, and defaming the "honor or dignity" of the president or vice president was passed by Indonesian lawmakers on Tuesday.
The criminal code, which has more than 600 articles, was approved by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, amid fierce opposition from proponents of free speech and human rights.
After the measure was enacted on Tuesday, Deputy House Speaker Lodewijk F. Paul made the statement that "if there is unhappiness, of course, there are legal steps that can be done" in an effort to quell dissent.
He urged the public to "let this process continue" in a statement, adding, "Tell the Constitutional Court."
The earlier legislation, which was created during the Dutch colonial authority that lasted from 1816 to the early 1940s, was more in keeping with Indonesian culture and law, according to Paul, who defended the bill.
Because the law we have up to now has remained true to the law enacted by the Dutch East Indies, he continued, "we have a new law based on Indonesian conditions."
The new code will have a chilling impact on society, according to a coalition of Indonesian journalist organizations, which claimed that at least 19 of its provisions might make it difficult for them to conduct their jobs.
The AJI chairman for the capital city of Papua Province, Jayapura, Lucky Ireeuw, stated that they oppose the code's approval because it will impede free expression by making journalists fear going to jail for doing their jobs.
In a statement, Ireeuw stated that "this legislation will impede press freedom in the midst of a democracy."
The new code punishes anyone who disparage the honor or dignity of the president and vice president with a maximum term of three years in prison in addition to criminalizing extramarital sex with a maximum sentence of one year.The maximum sentence for those who broadcast or spread false material that causes unrest is six years in prison, while the maximum sentence for those who publish information that is "reasonably considered" to be incorrect is four years.
The new regulations, according to Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono, are "a setback for already diminishing religious freedom in Indonesia," the fourth-biggest democracy on earth and seat of the world's largest Muslim population.
The risk of oppressive laws, according to him, is not that they would be enforced broadly but rather that they will open up opportunities for selective enforcement.
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