Indonesia enforces new penal code
JAKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesia on Friday began enforcing its newly ratified penal code, replacing a Dutch-era criminal law that had governed the country for more than 80 years and marking a major shift in its legal landscape.
Since proclaiming independence in 1945, the Southeast Asian country had continued to operate under a colonial framework widely criticized as outdated and misaligned with Indonesia’s social values. Efforts to revise the code stalled for decades as lawmakers debated how to balance human rights, religious norms and local traditions in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.
Penalties for extra-marital sex
The 345-page Indonesian Penal Code, known as the KUHP, was passed in 2022. At the time, then US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said the US was “closely monitoring the revised criminal code” of its democratic partner.
It criminalizes sex outside marriage and reintroduces penalties for insulting the president and state institutions. It comes into force following a three-year transition period.
A previously revised code was poised for passage in 2019, but then President Joko Widodo urged lawmakers to delay a vote amid mounting public criticism that led to nationwide protests involving tens of thousands of people.
Opponents said it contained articles that discriminated against minorities and that the legislative process lacked transparency.
A parliamentary task force finalized the bill in November 2022 and lawmakers unanimously approved it a month later in what the government called a “historic step.”
