https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Indonesia-s-new-criminal-code-spurs-democracy-business-concerns
Indonesia's new criminal code spurs democracy, business concerns
Curbs widely criticized, though some say worries of impact on tourism overblown
JAKARTA -- A wide-ranging law passed in Indonesia curbing political and sexual freedom is drawing harsh criticism, as it is viewed as a threat to the country's still young democracy and dynamic tourism industry.
Parliament on Tuesday approved a new Criminal Code Bill that forbids insulting the president and any state institution, while also banning extramarital and premarital sex and contraception.
The prohibitions, which apply to Indonesian citizens and foreign nationals, garnered support from all political parties though they do not take effect for three years. A previous effort to outlaw extramarital and gay sex in 2018 was eventually withdrawn.
Muslim-majority Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, has blossomed into the world's third-largest democracy in the nearly 25 years since the fall of longtime dictator Suharto in 1998.
But some see the legislation negating that.
"We have made great strides toward democracy since the downfall of Suharto's dictatorship, and the new Criminal Code threatens to reverse that progress," said Eva Sundari, a board member at ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights and former Indonesian lawmaker, in a statement released Wednesday by APHR.
Amnesty International's local branch, meanwhile, blasted the legislation as a threat to civic life.
"What we're witnessing is a significant blow to Indonesia's hard-won progress in protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms over more than two decades," Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid said in a statement issued Tuesday. "The fact that the Indonesian government and the House of Representatives agreed to pass a penal code that effectively stamps out many human rights is appalling."
Indonesia's tropical climate and breathtaking scenery have long made it a popular tourist draw. And while COVID travel restrictions dramatically reduced the number of visitors, most such curbs have been dropped and the country is hoping for a tourism rebound. Indonesia is also keen to attract more foreign investment, including for its ambitious project to move the country's capital from Jakarta to the island of Borneo.
"[The law] is counterproductive with the mission to rebuild tourism which was severely affected by the pandemic," said Maulana Yusran, general secretary of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, in comments to Nikkei Asia. "This law will potentially disrupt trust of the international market to make Indonesia a travel destination."
U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Sung Kim suggested that investors and tourists may be deterred by the law.
"Criminalizing the personal decisions of individuals would loom large within the decision matrix of many companies determining whether to invest in Indonesia," he said during a speech in Jakarta on Tuesday. "The outcome could well result in less foreign investment, tourism and travel."
Some, however, are taking a wait-and-see attitude, citing provisions that could make it difficult to apply to visitors.
One executive at a major hotel operator in Southeast Asia, who requested anonymity, told Nikkei that a major impact on inbound tourism was unlikely as "it needs someone to press charges and that someone has to be [a] legal spouse, parent or child. So it's not a random law."
The spokesperson for the Law and Human Rights Ministry's Criminal Code Bill dissemination team confirmed that under the law, a charge of adultery could only be reported by spouses, parents, a parent-in-law or children, or the head of a neighborhood or village.
Yasonna Laoly, Indonesia's minister of Law and Human Rights, suggested that there would be room for some compromise and interpretation regarding the bill. "We try to accommodate as best we can whatever important issues we disagree on," he said.
Gerry Soejatman, Jakarta-based consultant at Makna Aviation Consulting, cautioned that "inaccurate understanding" of the law is the bigger threat to tourism.
Passage has already drawn protests in Jakarta.
"Of course, the most worrying part is the threat to freedom of _expression_," said an artist from the city of Bandung. Though he mostly does commercial work, he told Nikkei of his worries that colleagues who work creatively may be intimidated by the law.
He also expressed concern about the sexual prohibitions.
"It should be left to [people's] private affairs as long as they don't cause issues with neighbors or others around them," he said. "It's also silly to implement the restriction that only married couples can spend nights together at hotels."
The law comes on the heels of Indonesia winning praise for its hosting of the Group of 20 summit on the island of Bali last month, something Ambassador Kim was keen to stress.
"The success of the G-20 has shown a positive trajectory for Indonesia's future," he said, adding "it is important to continue the dialogue and ensure mutual respect for one another" and "ensure inclusive societies for all."