Why new details about Indonesia’s criminal code revamp are worrying President Joko Widodo’s critics
- The latest version of the criminal penal code (KUHP) bill, if passed, means Indonesians may go to prison for years for insulting their leaders
- Human rights activists are also concerned citizens will be locked up for extramarital sex or sharing contraception/abortion information
The latest draft of Indonesia’s controversial new criminal code, unveiled last week, has amplified concerns among human rights defenders and analysts about the possibility of broad powers being written into legislation that could be used to suppress dissent.
With the memory of the country’s previous era of autocratic rule – which ended with the fall of dictator Suharto in 1998 – still on the minds of activists, the criminal penal code (KUHP) bill’s potential to undermine free speech and the rights of minority groups has emerged as a major red flag.
President Joko Widodo’s administration officially submitted the new draft, containing 632 articles, to the House of Representatives on July 6.
In an acknowledgement of continued public reservations about the changes, Widodo this week told local media editors that his administration had no plans to rush the enactment of the updated criminal code. “They need to hear more aspirations from the public,” he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.
Law experts and activists have pointed out 24 problematic articles, key among them a ban on insulting the president or vice-president, the government and government bodies and agencies.
