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Controversial KUHP revision prioritized, again

Despite massive student protests over controversial articles in a proposed amendment of the Criminal Code (KUHP), the government and the House of Representatives have agreed to include the draft in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) for next year

Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post)
Mon, December 9, 2019

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Controversial KUHP revision prioritized, again

Despite massive student protests over controversial articles in a proposed amendment of the Criminal Code (KUHP), the government and the House of Representatives have agreed to include the draft in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) for next year.

During a meeting on Thursday, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly and the House’s Legislation Body (Baleg) agreed on a list of 50 bills to be prioritized for deliberation next year. The list includes four bills President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had sought to delay only weeks ago, just before the current House members commenced their term in office for the 2019-2024 period, namely the KUHP revision, the correctional procedures bill, the land bill and the mining bill.

The latest draft of the KUHP revision, a copy of which was seen by The Jakarta Post, still includes 14 controversial articles that had sparked the protests, including articles to restore a ban on insulting the President that had been repealed by the Constitutional Court, as well as stipulations on morality that criminalize, among other things, consensual sex by unmarried people, cohabitation and the promotion of contraception.

A member of House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, Habiburokhman, said his commission, which would handle the bill’s deliberation, had reached no agreement with the government on the contentious articles that had caused the widespread protests in September.

“As a member of Commission III, I am ready to discuss the controversial articles, but personally I think we should not spend energy deliberating articles that are disputed,” said the Gerindra Party lawmaker.

Jokowi faced a string of student protests nationwide when he decided to pass a controversial revision of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law, followed by the hasty deliberation of four other bills opposed by many people, including the KUHP bill.

At least five people were killed in the protests, prompting the President to call on lawmakers to halt the deliberation of the disputed bills and drop the disputed articles in the KUHP bill, meeting one of the demands of the students.

Yasonna said the government wanted to review the articles rather than outright drop them.

“There are some matters we need to revisit […]. We must take one step back to resolve some crucial articles,” Yasonna said in the meeting at the House. “Not all 14 are problematic. Some are just misunderstood by the public,” he said.

Yasonna, however, said there were other bills that the government considered more important than the KUHP bill, which were the omnibus bill on job creation and the empowerment of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and another omnibus bill on taxation.

“The two omnibus bills are our top priority. That’s our main focus. The other bills will remain on the 2020 list,” Yasonna told the Baleg members.

Baleg deputy chairwoman Rieke Diah Pitaloka of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) asserted that the postponed bills should be deliberated thoroughly and with involvement of the public.

“It’s still very dynamic, we will discuss it in the commission," said another member of Commission III, Masinton Pasaribu of the PDI-P.

Commission III member Taufik Basari of the NasDem Party suggested the government and the House reopen the discussion for all the articles in the bill, not just the 14 articles.

Trisakti University criminal law expert Abdul Fickar Hajar said the House and the government should seek input from the public, and the lawmakers should go into the field to discuss the legislative drafts directly with people from various backgrounds.

"It is not enough to just invite the public to the public hearings. The lawmakers could go the extra mile by visiting universities throughout the country […]. The public has to contribute,” he said.

Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) executive director Anggara concurred, saying civil society should be directly involved, including experts on social welfare, the economy and public health. “[This should go] beyond public hearings to directly involve [the public] in the deliberation process."

Anggara said problems with the KUHP bill might not be limited to the 14 articles. “Some issues are still unclear, for example the article on [living together]. The minister has never mentioned it.”

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