T

he government should not be worried about protecting the honor of President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo as the President can still sue anyone that slanders him under the current Criminal Code (KUHP), according to a politician.

'€œAs an individual, the President can still sue a person that insults him,'€ said Arsul Sani, a lawmaker from the United Development Party (PPP).

The member of the House of Representatives'€™ law commission said that if the government insisted on introducing new articles that would reinstate presidential insults as a crime, it would become a tool for law enforcement institutions to act against anyone that openly criticized the President, regardless of whether he minded the insults.

'€œIf a law enforcement institution finds that a person has insulted the President or Vice President through social media, it can directly charge him [without presidential or vice presidential consent],'€ he said.

The government recently revealed a plan to insert new articles in the KUHP that would bring back presidential insults as a crime.

In the new KUHP draft, the government reintroduces articles 262, 263, 264, 284 and 285.

The proposed articles say that Indonesian citizens could be imprisoned for 9 years for insulting or publishing writings and pictures that insult the President or the Vice President.

Jokowi said earlier that he was fine with criticism and insults and that lawmakers could reject the proposed legislation.

Jokowi also said that the idea to restore the provisions was actually proposed by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono'€™s administration in 2012, but that the deliberation had been delayed.

In the 2006 ruling, the Constitutional Court almost unanimously ruled that three articles in the KUHP '€” articles 134, 136 and 137 '€” undermined the right to the freedom of speech mandated by the Constitution, and caused uncertainty, as those articles were subject to multiple interpretations.

At that time, the court'€™s ruling, which was made in favor of lawyer Eggi Sudjana and activist Pandapotan Lubis, who were facing charges for slandering Yudhoyono and his associates, was applauded by human rights and political activists.

The KUHP, which said that burning pictures of the President and Vice President and mocking them in public could carry a prison sentence of six years, was often used by former president Soeharto to silence critics during his 30 years in power.

Without the articles included in the current KUHP, a person can still be charged for defamation if someone files a report against that person, as stipulated in articles 310 and 311 of the KUHP.

Former president Yudhoyono tweeted on Sunday, saying that he changed his mind about the defamation articles as well.

He said that criminal charges should not be overused on those who criticize the President and the government, as it would discourage the public from expressing their opinions.

'€œDemocracy and freedom are important, but nobody should go beyond the limit. The state should not be repressive,'€ he said.

Yudhoyono also recalled his time as president when he received insults and strong remarks from citizens, but decided not to employ his right to sue them.

The KUHP amendment is a priority this year, but the House has yet to formally discuss it.

Lawmakers from the opposition caucus, such as the Golkar Party and Gerindra Party have also expressed an objection to the amendments.

One of their arguments is that it would be against the law to reinstate articles that were revoked by the Constitutional Court.

They also said that introducing the articles would show that the current government was willing to go against the grain of democracy.