JAKARTA-Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday banned sex outside marriage with a punishment of up to one year in jail, despite worries the laws may scare away tourists from its shores and harm investment.
Yasonna Laoly, Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights, receives the new criminal code report from Bambang Wuryanto, head of the parliamentary commission overseeing the revision, during a parliamentary plenary meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 6, 2022.(Photo by Willy Kurniawan/Reuters).
Lawmakers approved a new criminal code which will apply to Indonesians and foreigners alike and also prohibit cohabitation between unmarried couples. It will also ban insulting the president or state institutions, spreading views counter to the state ideology, and staging protests without notification.
The laws were passed with support from all political parties. However, the code will not come into effect for three years to allow for implementing regulations to be drafted.
Currently, Indonesia bans adultery but not premarital sex. Maulana Yusran, deputy chief of Indonesia's tourism industry board, said the new code was "totally counter-productive" at a time when the economy and tourism were starting to recover from the pandemic.
"We deeply regret the government have closed their eyes. We have already expressed our concern to the ministry of tourism about how harmful this law is," he said.
Foreign arrivals in the holiday destination of Bali are expected to reach pre-pandemic levels of six million by 2025, the tourism association has said previously, as the island recovers from the impacts of COVID-19.
Indonesia is also trying to attract more so-called "digital nomads" to its tropical shores by offering a more flexible visa.
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.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told a news briefing in Washington the United States was assessing the contents of the law and noted that the implementing regulations had not yet been drafted. (Agencies)
Lawmakers approved a new criminal code which will apply to Indonesians and foreigners alike and also prohibit cohabitation between unmarried couples. It will also ban insulting the president or state institutions, spreading views counter to the state ideology, and staging protests without notification.
The laws were passed with support from all political parties. However, the code will not come into effect for three years to allow for implementing regulations to be drafted.
Currently, Indonesia bans adultery but not premarital sex. Maulana Yusran, deputy chief of Indonesia's tourism industry board, said the new code was "totally counter-productive" at a time when the economy and tourism were starting to recover from the pandemic.
"We deeply regret the government have closed their eyes. We have already expressed our concern to the ministry of tourism about how harmful this law is," he said.
Foreign arrivals in the holiday destination of Bali are expected to reach pre-pandemic levels of six million by 2025, the tourism association has said previously, as the island recovers from the impacts of COVID-19.
Indonesia is also trying to attract more so-called "digital nomads" to its tropical shores by offering a more flexible visa.
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.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told a news briefing in Washington the United States was assessing the contents of the law and noted that the implementing regulations had not yet been drafted. (Agencies)