: From Colonial Codes to Regressive Review: Indonesia passes a new Criminal Code #IndiaNEWSAll #International On 6 December 2022, the Indonesian Parliament passed the draconian Criminal Code Act, which

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From Colonial Codes to Regressive Review: Indonesia passes a new Criminal Code #IndiaNEWSAll #International
On 6 December 2022, the Indonesian Parliament passed the draconian Criminal Code Act, which completely overhauled the Criminal Code. As per the new Act, adultery and cohabitation would be illegal with punishments of 6 months to a year in prison. The new criminal code bans the promotion of contraception, spreading communism, criticizing the sitting President, or vice president, and religious blasphemy. It also severely restricts access to abortion for pregnant women. The Act still may be many years from being implemented but has been severely criticized for its draconian nature by Civil Liberty activists in Indonesia.

Revising the Criminal Code
There has been a movement to completely rehaul the criminal code bill for a long time in Indonesia. The original Criminal Code was passed during Dutch rule. Many have called for a criminal code that reflects the will of the Indonesian people along with their values. This is the source of the conflict.
Role of the MUI
Indonesian Civil Society has always been influenced by religion. Progressive forces cite the humanitarian side of religion, and conservative elements try to advance the traditional order. Since the late 1990s, conservative elements have become more politically powerful.

Recently, the conservative elements of civil society have been able to lobby for a draconian Criminal Code. The rise of this branch goes back to the 1990s. In campaigning for the fall of Suharto back in the late 1990s, civil society groups campaigned on principles of democracy and populism. This involved a coalition between religious traditionalists and progressive elements. The traditionalist voices were initially very diverse, reflecting the plurality of religious practices in Indonesia. They were united in their call for a return to traditional values, a rejection of authoritarian elites, and a commitment to the electoral process.

In the early 2000s, the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (Council of Indonesian Islamic Scholars, known as MUI) became a leading voice for religious traditionalists. The MUI is Indonesia’s top Muslim Clerical body. It was founded in 1975 to aid the Suharto regime. Suharto used the MUI to delegitimize popular struggles by political Islamists and leftists. After the fall of Suharto, the MUI adapted to be more populist. Against the tradition of religious practice being mixed into local practices, the MUI promoted a more fundamentalist version, which was also seen as universal. They could speak to values from different parts of Indonesia. In a growing frustration against corruption in government, the MUI’s appeal to moral authority and character was popular with the people. The organization has issued fatwa’s against other versions of Islam calling for a homogeneous version.

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