Bali Law On Unmarried Couples 2022, Legal Experts On New Law And The People Of Indonesia React

Bali Law On Unmarried Couples 2022

Indonesia is on the verge of ratifying significant changes to its criminal code that would criminalize extramarital sex and make it illegal for unmarried couples to live together. If officials ratify sweeping changes to the country's criminal code on Tuesday, people who have sex outside of marriage could face up to a year in prison. In addition to criminalizing adultery, the revised code would prohibit unmarried couples from cohabiting.

If passed, the law would apply to Indonesian citizens and foreigners, including tourists visiting Bali and the islands off the coast of Lombok. Insulting the president and spreading views contrary to the Pancasila, or secular national ideology, will also be prohibited.

Legal Experts On New Law

According to legal experts and civil society groups, the changes are a "huge setback" for the Southeast Asian country.

"The state cannot manage morality. The government's duty is not as an umpire between conservative and liberal Indonesia," said Bivitri Susanti, a law expert from the Indonesia Jentera School of Law.

According to Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, and Bambang Wuryanto, head of the parliamentary commission overseeing the revision, parliament will hold a plenary session on Tuesday to ratify the new code.

Nationwide protests thwarted previous plans to ratify the new draft code in September 2019. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets, and the demonstrations became violent, with police using tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds.

Unmarried Couples Bali

The code revisions date back to the colonial period and have taken decades. While the changes have sparked mass protests recently, the reaction this year has been much more muted. Daniel Winarta, a student at the University of Indonesia, was among a small crowd of protesters who gathered outside the parliament in Jakarta on Monday.

"On cohabitation, for example, it's clearly a private matter," he said. "We will keep rejecting this."

The People Of Indonesia React

Indonesia's population is predominantly Muslim, with significant Hindu, Christian, and other religious minorities. Most Indonesian Muslims practice moderate Islam, but religious conservatism has crept into politics in recent years. Only close relatives, such as a spouse, parent, or child, can file complaints about extramarital sex or cohabit under the revised code. Only the president can file a complaint about being insulted, but such a crime carries a three-year prison sentence. To give the government time to draught related regulations, the code will not go into effect for three years after it is ratified.