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'Historic' revision aims to decolonize criminal code, but draconian provisions remain
Critics have repeatedly called for a review of problematic articles that they say may threaten democracy, such as one that makes insulting the head of state or other state officials illegal and another that requires protests to have prior government approval.
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Attempts to revise the Criminal Code (KUHP), a legacy of colonial rule, have been ongoing since the 1990s. (JP/Budhi Button)
T
he government and the House of Representatives are pushing ahead with a limited revision of the Criminal Code (KUHP), calling it a “historic mission” to decolonize outdated laws that the country inherited from the Dutch colonial era.
But not all activists and legal experts are buying it, pointing out that a number of draconian provisions that could potentially shrink the country's civic space could remain intact or even be expanded.
For many years, lawmakers and the government have attempted, rather ambitiously, to revise the colonial-era penal code. Since the last iteration in 2015, the drafting team claims it has prioritized prudence and transparency, although critics believe this has changed in recent years, marked by rush jobs and closed-door deliberations.
Critics have repeatedly called for a review of problematic articles that they say may threaten democracy, such as one that makes insulting the head of state or other state officials illegal and another that requires protests to have prior government approval.
The draft Criminal Code bill (RKUHP) itself is mired in controversy, with various civil society groups pushing hard for the government to make it publicly accessible.
Law and Human Rights Deputy Minister Edward Hiariej said on Tuesday that the draft bill was still in the process of being finalized and scrubbed, and that it was expected to be finished within the week. He insisted, however, that the bill would only be released once it had been submitted to the House for deliberation.
And when the bill is finally up for deliberation, Edward said it would focus only on a fixed list of 14 issues as proposed by the government on May 25, unlike the 24 topics that activists had demanded to be reviewed.
