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House agrees to include controversial 'morality' articles in Criminal Code bill
Lawmakers have agreed to "take the middle ground" in including articles that criminalize consensual sex between unmarried couples, cohabitation, adultery and rape, which have been expanded to cover LGBT relationships, despite widespread criticisms that they intrude on an individual's right to privacy.
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An illustration depicts the draft revision of the Criminal Code (KUHP) as undermining Indonesia's democracy. Lawmakers have been attempting since the 1990s to revise the KUHP, a legacy from Dutch colonial law. (JP/Budhi Button)
W
ith only four months to go before the end of its 2014-2019 term, the House of Representatives is determined to pass the revised Criminal Code (KUHP), which has taken decades and has been burdened with contentious articles that critics call a threat to citizens' privacy and the fight against corruption.
In a recent meeting, the members of House Commission III overseeing human rights, security and legal affairs agreed to include several articles that aim to regulate public morality, which criminalize consensual sex between two unmarried people, cohabitation, adultery and rape. The articles have also been made “gender-neutral”, which means that they also criminalize LGBT sex.
These articles come with other controversial provisions, including plans to restore an article on defamation against the president and to cover corruption in the code.
Nationalist and Islamist parties both support the provisions that regulate sexuality – which human rights groups have criticized vehemently as intrusions of privacy – opining that "immoral acts" could sabotage the country.
Most of the hateful rhetoric in support of the articles against adultery and LGBT sex have been raised during the deliberation by Islam-based parties – the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development Party (PPP).
