Indonesia Bans Citizens, Foreigners From Having Sex Outside Marriage

Hamilton Nwosa
Writer

Ad

2027: INEC Boss, Yakubu Warns, Says APC, PDP, LP, Others, violating electoral laws with early campaigns

By Abiola Olawale The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has sounded a warning to Nigeria's political parties, declaring that early political campaigns by aspirants and parties pose a severe threat to the nation's fragile democratic framework. Speaking at a high-level stakeholders' roundtable on the challenges of early political campaigns,…

MDBs set to scale up $137bn climate finance push at COP30 in Brazil

By Obinna Uballa Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are preparing to expand climate financing commitments at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, building on a record $137 billion deployed in 2024, according to the Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks’ Climate Finance made available to New Diplomat on Wednesday. The report, coordinated by the European Investment Bank (EIB)…

Concerns as Qatar Tightens Visa Rules, Bars Nigerian Men from Solo Travel

By Abiola Olawale The Qatari government has announced its decision to bar Nigerian men from travelling solo to the country. The Qatari Ministry of Interior said the new visa regulations for Nigerian men travellers came after recent cases of overstays. Under the new policy, Nigerian men must show intent to travel with their wives, sisters,…

Ad

Indonesia’s parliament, on Tuesday, approved a new criminal code that bans sex outside marriage with a punishment of up to one year in jail.

The new code, which will apply to Indonesians and foreigners alike, also prohibits cohabitation between unmarried couples.

It was passed with support from all political parties. However, the code will not come into effect until after three years to allow for the implementation of the regulations to be drafted.

Indonesia has banned adultery but not premarital sex.

Maulana Yusran, deputy chief of Indonesia’s tourism industry board, said the new code was “totally counter-productive” when the economy and tourism started recovering from the pandemic.

“We deeply regret that the government has closed its eyes,” he said. “We have already expressed our concern to the ministry of tourism about how harmful this law is.”

Foreign arrivals in the holiday destination of Bali are expected to reach pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels of six million by 2025, the tourism association said recently, as the island recovers from the impacts of COVID-19.

Speaking at an investment summit, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Sung Kim said the news could result in less foreign investment, tourism, and travel to the Southeast Asian nation.

“Criminalising the personal decisions of individuals would loom large within the decision matrix of many companies determining whether to invest in Indonesia,” he said.

Albert Aries, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s justice ministry, said the new laws regulating morality were limited by who could report them, such as a parent, spouse, or child of suspected offenders.

“The aim is to protect the institution of marriage and Indonesian values while at the same time being able to protect the privacy of the community and also negate the rights of the public or other third parties to report this matter or ‘playing judge’ on behalf of morality,” he said.

Other laws include bans on black magic, insulting the president or state institutions, spreading views counter to state ideology, and staging protests without notification.

Editorials in national newspapers decried the new laws, with the daily newspaper Koran Tempo saying the code has “authoritarian” tones, while the Jakarta Post said it had “grave concerns” about their application.

Decades in the making, legislators hailed the passage of the criminal code as a much-needed overhaul of a colonial vestige.

Opponents of the bill highlighted articles they say will curb free speech and represent a “huge setback” in ensuring the retention of democratic freedoms after the fall of authoritarian leader Suharto in 1998.

“This is not only a setback but a death for Indonesia’s democracy,” said Citra Referandum, a lawyer from Indonesia’s Legal Aid Institute.

Responding to the criticism, Indonesia’s Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly told parliament that “it’s not easy for a multicultural and multi-ethnic country to make a criminal code that can accommodate all interests.”

(Reuters/NAN)

Ad

Unlocking Opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea during UNGA80
X whatsapp