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Lawmakers press ahead with Criminal Code revisions despite protests
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University students protest against revisions to the Criminal Code in front of the House of Representatives compound in Jakarta on Sept. 23, 2019. (JP/Donny Fernando)
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awmakers are pressing ahead with plans to pass a revised Criminal Code on Tuesday that would dilute antigraft rules and civil liberties, insisting that they have taken public opinion into account despite civil society protests to the contrary.
House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad announced on Monday that the passage of the Criminal Code bill was scheduled for the following day.
“We have discussed this with House leaders and the House’s Steering Committee [Bamus] – to pass the bill into law in the coming plenary session,” Dasco said.
Some lawmakers insisted that they had accommodated public opinion, claiming provisions widely deemed draconian had been watered down, such as ones criminalizing insulting a sitting president and outlawing cohabitation before marriage, as well articles governing the death penalty.
Nonetheless, the bill retains a number of contentious articles.
Muhammad Nurdin, member of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs, which late last month endorsed the bill to be brought to a House plenary session, said the deliberation of the bill had finished and would not be reopened.
“If there are provisions deemed not in accordance with the Constitution, please bring them to the Constitutional Court for a review,” he added.
