Indonesia's parliament has approved a criminal code that bans sex outside marriage with a punishment of up to one year in jail, part of a raft of legal changes that critics say undermine civil liberties in the world's third-largest democracy.
Australians visiting popular tourist hotspot, Bali, will need to be wary of the laws, with the new code applying to Indonesians and foreigners alike.
As well as a ban on extramarital sex, will also prohibit cohabitation between unmarried couples. It was passed with support from all political parties and despite warnings from business groups that it could scare away tourists and harm investment.
Currently, Indonesia bans adultery but not premarital sex.
Activists protest against the new criminal code outside the parliament building in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. Source: Getty, AFP / Adek Berry
Here's everything you need to know about this controversial new law.
When will the law come into effect?
Indonesia's President Joko Widodo had urged parliament to pass the bill this year, before the country's political climate heats up ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for early 2024.
The code will not come into effect for three years to allow for implementing regulations to be drafted.
Why was the law passed?
A revision of Indonesia's criminal code, which stretches back to the Dutch colonial era, has been debated for decades.
"The old code belongs to Dutch heritage ... and is no longer relevant now," Bambang Wuryanto, head of the parliamentary commission in charge of revising the code, told politicians
The spokesperson of the Law and Human Rights Ministry's criminal code bill dissemination team, Albert Aries, said the law would protect marriage institutions.
He said acts of pre-marital and extramarital sex could only be reported by a spouse, parents or children, limiting the scope of the amendment.
The new laws will also include more lenient sentences for those charged with corruption.
The government had planned to pass a revision of the country's colonial-era criminal code in 2019 .
Politicians have since diluted some of the provisions.
Indonesia's President Joko Widodo had urged parliament to pass the bill this year. Source: AAP, EPA / Athit Perawongmetha
What is the reaction to the new laws?
Rights groups have slammed the legislation as morality policing and activists denounced it as a crackdown on civil and political freedoms. They say the proposals underscore a growing shift towards fundamentalism in a country long hailed for its religious tolerance, with secularism enshrined in its constitution.
But the world's largest Muslim-majority nation has seen a rise in religious conservatism in recent years.
"We are going backward... repressive laws should have been abolished but the bill shows that the arguments of scholars abroad are true, that our democracy is indisputably in decline," Amnesty International Indonesia director Usman Hamid told news agency AFP.
Maulana Yusran, deputy chief of Indonesia's tourism industry board, said the new bill was "totally counter-productive" at a time when the economy and tourism were starting to recover from the pandemic.
"Hotels or any accommodation facilities are like second homes for tourists. With the ratification of this criminal code, hotels are now problematic places," he said.
Opponents of the bill have highlighted articles they say are socially regressive, will curb free speech and represent a setback in ensuring the retention of democratic freedoms after the fall of authoritarian leader Suharto in 1998.
Responding to the criticism, Indonesia's Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly told parliament: "It's not easy for a multicultural and multi-ethnic country to make a criminal code that can accommodate all interests."
About a hundred people protested against the bill on Monday and unfurled a yellow banner that read "reject the passing of the criminal code revision", with some dropping flower petals on the banner as is done for a funeral.
Abdul Ghofar, a campaigner of Indonesia’s environmental group WALHI, said the symbolic acts signified the public’s “grief” over the impending passage of the revision.
Another protest to reject the new law is scheduled to be held on Tuesday in front of the parliament building.
How could the laws affect the LGBTIQ+ community?
There are also fears these rules could have a major impact on the LGBTIQ+ community in Indonesia where gay marriage is not allowed.
Legal experts say that an article in the code on customary law could reinforce discriminatory and sharia-inspired bylaws at a local level, and pose a particular threat to LGBTIQ+ people.
"Regulations that are not in accordance with human rights principles will occur in conservative areas," said Bivitri Susanti, from the Indonesia Jentera School of Law, referring to existing bylaws in some regions that impose curfews on women, or target what are described as "deviant" sexualities.
