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‘Win-win for all’: Govt mounts defense of Criminal Code
“The world would come to an end long before we could please all 270 million people in the country,” said Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Edward OS Hiariej on extending public consultations for the penal code.
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Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Edward OS “Eddy“ Hiariej (second left) speaks to the press in a joint conference with the Foreign Ministry in Central Jakarta, on Dec. 12, 2022. Government officials defiantly defended on Monday the passage of the new Criminal Code that had been criticized for containing moral clauses and curbs to civil liberties. (Courtesy of Foreign Ministry/Lusinta)
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eeking to rebut emerging criticism that the revised Criminal Code (KUHP) had been insufficiently prepared to reflect the people’s aspirations, Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Edward OS Hiariej on Monday claimed that the penal code had achieved a “win-win” solution for bridging differences between the nation’s religious conservatives and liberals.
Not only had the KUHP seized Indonesia’s primary goal of decolonizing its laws, Edward said, it had also found a legislative middle path to reconcile the nation’s vast cultural differences. Concerns over the narrowing of personal autonomy were therefore unfounded, he asserted, especially with regard to foreign investors and tourists thinking twice before paying the country a visit.
“The KUHP has been drafted with meticulous attention. At the core of the deliberations was striking a balance between the state’s and the people’s interests, all within the context of a multiethnic, multi-religious and multicultural society,” he said at a Foreign Ministry press conference.
“We took a win-win path; the Indonesian way. [...] By right, [the KUHP] should not disturb the interests of the people or of business, including tourists and foreign investors.”
The government has been on the back foot ever since the House of Representatives passed the revamped penal code last week. Amid surprise and growing disapproval, officials at various levels of government have sought to limit the fallout from potential visitors and investors alike.
Bali Governor I Wayan Koster said in a Sunday statement that tourists need not worry about the new Criminal Code, reaffirming that their privacy would still be held in high regard and that no establishments would be authorized to carry out background checks on their marital status.
“[The news] that there have been flight and hotel room booking cancellations are all hoaxes [...] All parties are advised to be wise and not deliver any misleading statement that would muddy the situation [...] because it may disrupt Bali’s tourism,” he wrote.
