“People should still be able to carry out discussion, as well as to read textbooks on communism, as long as it intended for scientific purposes,” said Luhut in Jakarta on Friday. He, however, believed that communism still was a latent danger to Indonesia.

Any research on communism in an academic context should be allowed, since it aimed to educate people and helped citizens be able to prevent communism from infiltrating our society once again, Luhut said.

"There should be an expert of communism too, right. We should not be like the US, which is paranoid about terrorism," Luhut said on Friday.

However, Luhut asserted that if showcasing communism  had to do with spreading the ideology or to revive the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the government would take strict actions in accordance with the law.

Spreading communism is considered treason and people convicted for the crime can face up to 15 years' imprisonment, according to Article 107 of Law No. 27/1999 on state security. A previous 1966 and 2003 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) ruling also asserts the disbandment of communism in Indonesia.

Recently, in numerous regions across the country, such as Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya, raids have been carried out on events showcasing books or discussions on communism. Indonesia's National Library also supports the prohibition of books with communist content. (bbn)

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