The United States voiced concern over a law that cleared Indonesia’s parliament that would outlaw extramarital sex, warning it could hurt the investment climate in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.
“We are concerned regarding how these changes could impact the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Indonesia,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday.
“We’re also concerned about how the law could impact US citizens visiting and living in Indonesia, as well as the investment climate for US companies,” he said.
A revision of Indonesia’s criminal code, which stretches back to the Dutch colonial era, had been debated for decades.
Rights groups protested against the amendments, denouncing them as a crackdown on civil liberties and political freedoms as well as a shift towards fundamentalism in Muslim-majority Indonesia, where the constitution recognises five religions alongside Islam.
Australia said yesterday it was seeking more information on Indonesia’s move to criminalise sex outside of marriage, as the ban’s impact on tourists to Bali and other parts of the nation remained unclear.
“We understand these revisions will not come into force for three years, and we await further information on how the revisions will be interpreted as implementing regulations are drafted and finalised,” a foreign affairs spokesperson said in a statement.
Officials would “regularly and carefully reassess the risks to Australians overseas”, and would “continue to monitor the situation closely”, she added.
Indonesia, northwest of Australia, is a major holiday destination for those Down Under, with the largely Hindu island of Bali famous for its beaches, nightlife and pumping surf.
Before the pandemic, more than a million Australians a year visited the island.
Despite the change to the laws, authorities have insisted foreigners travelling to Bali will not be affected.
The new code must still be approved by President Joko Widodo.
Some of the most controversial articles in the new code criminalise extramarital sex and the cohabitation of unmarried couples.
According to the text seen by AFP, sex outside marriage will be punished with one year in prison, while unmarried people living together could face six months behind bars. — AFP