Already, petitions have been filed with the Constitutional Court to challenge several provisions potentially limiting civil liberties and enabling excessive use of power by state authorities.

As of Sunday, a dozen judicial review requests had been registered against the two laws. Many of them filed by students who are seeking to overturn provisions that could curb freedom of expression, which the Constitution explicitly protects.

Two cases challenge provisions that make insulting a sitting president and the government a crime (lèse-majesté), a ban that flies in the face of decades-old precedents set by the same court.

These articles are too vague to determine what counts as an insult rather than criticism.

Another petition centers on a provision that penalizes those holding unlicensed public protests to six months in prison or up to Rp 10 million (US$593) in fines if the protests turn violent, harm the public interest or disrupt public services.

The new penal code was passed in 2022 by the House of Representatives and signed by then-president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in early 2023.