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reedom of expression in the country is in jeopardy, rights groups have warned, as the nation witnessed numerous cases of criminalization over alleged defamation in the past couple of years, with the latest one pertaining to dangdut singer Zaskia Gotik.

Zaskia was recently reported to the Jakarta Police by the Corruption Monitoring Community, a group aiming to deter such defamation, for allegedly insulting the state ideology of Pancasila and Independence Day in a television show.

RCTI, the private TV station that aired the show, asked Zaskia to apologize, but the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) nevertheless insisted on issuing a warning to RCTI for violating KPI broadcasting guidelines. Zaskia later apologized, saying she had not meant to insult the nation'€™s symbols.

Some might deem her comments improper, but the criminalization effort launched against her, which could see her spend up to five years behind bars for insulting the nation'€™s symbols, can also be seen as excessive.

Another controversial regulation that allows for criminalization of online speech is the Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law, which mandates criminal punishment for anyone who purposely and without authority distributes electronic information or documents with libelous or defamatory content.

'€œInstead of allowing such criminalization that can have a chilling effect, freedom of expression can be regulated better by imposing permissible restrictions,'€ said Wahyudi Djafar from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) on Saturday.

ELSAM has registered 45 cases of criminalization threatening freedom of speech on online platforms last year, up from 40 cases in 2014. ELSAM data also points to 35 cases of repression on offline platforms, 20 of which relate to the 1965 killings. There were also 45 instances of repression infringing press freedom, according to ELSAM, with four media executives reported to authorities last year.

Freedom House'€™s 2015 Index of Freedom in the World describes Indonesia as '€œpartly free'€. According to the study, treason and blasphemy laws '€œare routinely used to limit freedom of expression by minority groups and separatists'€ and '€œcensorship and self-censorship of books and films for allegedly obscene or blasphemous content are fairly common'€.

Freedom House lowered Indonesia'€™s status from '€œfree'€ in 2013 to '€œpartly free'€ in 2014, pointing to the enactment of the mass organization law, which restricts the activities of organizations.

Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara has proposed milder punishment for defamation in a revision of the ITE Law, cutting the maximum prison sentence from six years to four years and the maximum fine from Rp 1 billion to Rp 700 million. However, human rights campaigners have called for greater protection of the public'€™s right to express their thoughts, demanding that criminal charges be scrapped from the law altogether.

The ministry also proposed a change that will see defamation as a crime based on victim reports, a revision that is expected to prevent abuse of power by law enforcers.

At the same time, however, the ministry signaled that filtering internet content in the country would continue, despite unclear mechanisms and a lack of transparency. A recent plan by the ministry to ban microblogging website and social network Tumblr in Indonesia due to the presence of some content considered to be pornographic sparked widespread criticism.

Meutya Hafid, deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission I, which oversees communication and technology, said the commission'€™s stance was supportive of freedom of expression and speech, with commission members seeking to achieve more balanced provisions in the ITE that would not undermine freedom of speech, while at the same time protecting people'€™s reputation.

Meutya criticized the government for failing to increase internet literacy. '€œWe are also seeking to amend the Broadcasting Law, which will oblige not only broadcasters or TV stations, but also everyone who appears on television to be more responsible for their appearance. It is also aimed at providing better public education on television,'€ she added.

Beside the ITE Law, the Pornography Law is often used to criminalize people. In a 2014 case, satay vendor Muhammad Arsyad was detained by police for allegedly defaming President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo online. Arsyad was charged with defamation and spreading pornographic material following a report filed by an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker while Jokowi was engaged in his presidential campaign.

Jokowi later asked the police to release Arsyad from detention after he had forgiven him. The President called on the public to learn from Arsyad'€™s case by promoting decency and respecting other people online.
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