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Indonesia seeks to revive colonial-era lèse-majesté law
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University students protest proposed revisions to the Criminal Code in front of the House of Representatives on Sept. 23, 2019. (JP/Donny Fernando)
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mid a series of threats to free speech in the country, the government is pushing to reintroduce colonial-era provisions that would make insulting a sitting president punishable by imprisonment.
Last week, the Law and Human Rights Ministry and the House of Representatives discussed placing a bill to revise the Criminal Code back in the House’s National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) for this year. The deliberation of the bill was postponed in 2019 following mass student protests in Jakarta and other regions in response to many of its provisions.
The draft bill, which has been circulating among activists and the media, would make insulting a president punishable by up to three years and six months in jail. The maximum sentence would jump to four years and six months if the insults were spread on social media.
In 2006, Criminal Code articles on insulting the president were revoked by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that they undermined the right to free speech and were subject to a wide variety of interpretations.
The articles are a legacy of Dutch colonial rule, where they were used to curb discontent against the Dutch royal family. After Indonesia became independent, the law was revised to protect the president and vice president instead.
The ministry claims the current provisions are different, as they now stipulate that only the offended party may initiate an investigation into an alleged insult.
Those parties are the president and vice president.
