Indonesia’s new criminal code a ‘middle ground’ of diverse society: govt

Activists protesting against the new criminal code outside the parliament building in Jakarta on Dec 5, 2022. - AFP

JAKARTA (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Indonesia’s passage of a controversial criminal code this week has grabbed the world’s attention as a setback to democracy and human rights, but the government has defended it as “a middle ground to knit together Indonesia’s diverse society”.

The international media had particularly zoomed in on the ban on sex outside marriage, which is punishable by up to a year in prison, and cohabitation, which carries up to six months in jail. Some reports even warned about how the new law might ward off tourists and foreign investors.