T

he government is seeking to restore defamation of the president as a criminal offense, a provision that had been removed from the Criminal Code (KUHP).

In its proposed amendment of the KUHP, the government has reintroduced the defamation articles, which had been annulled by the Constitutional Court.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said it was reasonable to consider the proposal since a president should be respected in every country in the world.

'€œThe president is the head of state, so if someone insults or acts contemptuously against the president, it will [destabilize] the government, so it'€™s fair enough,'€ he said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

Lawmakers at the House of Representatives have objected to the restoration of the controversial articles.

Aziz Syamsuddin, the head of House of Representatives'€™ Commission III overseeing law and legal affairs, said it was not possible to restore a provision that had been annulled by the Constitutional Court.

The Constitutional Court revoked articles 134 and 136 of the KUHP in 2006, arguing that the articles contravened the right to freedom of speech mandated by the Constitution. The judicial review of the articles had been requested by lawyer and activist Eggy Sudjana, who was in trouble for accusing then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono'€™s aides of accepting luxurious cars from media mogul Harry Tanoesoedibjo.

The Yudhoyono administration had also proposed restoring the articles but no amendment was made. Lawmakers have made amending the KUHP a legislative priority for this year.