Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and\nCorrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra has stated that he respects the\nproposal by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which is pushing for\ndeliberation of a bill on the criminalisation of LGBT activities.\nAccording to Yusril, the government guarantees the right of every person\nor organisation to express their aspirations in a democratic\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that a religious organisation has reportedly taken the\ninitiative to draft such a bill \u2014 the government respects that\ninitiative,\u201d Yusril said via WhatsApp message on Thursday, 9 July\n2026.<\/p>\n
The former Secretary of State declined to comment on the substance of\nthe LGBT criminal law bill, only emphasising that the government is not\ntaking the proposal any further. \u201cRegarding the proposal for an LGBT\ncriminal law bill, the government has, until now, no plans to draft such\na bill,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Amid controversy over the designation of LGBT as a non-military\nthreat to the state, a recommendation has emerged for regulations\ncriminalising the group. The proposal is being driven by the Indonesian\nUlema Council, which is working on an academic paper and a draft LGBT\nCriminal Law Bill to submit to the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
MUI Deputy Chairman Muhammad Cholid Nafis believes the existing legal\ninstruments do not specifically regulate punishment for LGBT individuals\nwhose behaviour is deemed deviant. He noted that same-sex couples no\nlonger feel ashamed about displaying intimacy in public.<\/p>\n
For that reason, Cholid is convinced that clear legal regulation is\nneeded, as moral appeals are ineffective in curbing the scale of LGBT\nactivities and cultural campaigns. For Cholid, the LGBT criminal law\nbill is the answer to anticipating homosexual couples acting in\npublic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt present, law enforcers want to be firm, but there are no rules\nconcerning the criminalisation of perpetrators and the LGBT campaign,\u201d\nsaid the University of Indonesia postgraduate lecturer in a voice\nmessage on Wednesday, 8 July 2026.<\/p>\n
Cholid Nafis said MUI\u2019s legal and legislative team is still\ndiscussing what form of sanctions will be regulated in the bill. The\ndraft is targeted for completion soon and will be finalised at the\nIslamic Community Congress in Jakarta on 24-26 July.<\/p>\n
In an interview with MUI Digital on 28 June 2026, Cholid Nafis\nrevealed the limits of criminal regulation in the planned bill. He\nclaimed the bill would not criminalise sexual orientation that remains\nin one\u2019s mind and is not displayed publicly. The bill will focus on\nthose practising and campaigning for LGBT.<\/p>\n
According to Cholid, sanctions for perpetrators could take the form\nof criminal punishment by law enforcement, or ta\u2019zir sanctions aimed at\neducation, to be decided by a panel of judges. Although the LGBT\ncriminal law bill cannot eliminate all deviant acts, he believes the\nexistence of such regulation is crucial to prevent the perception that\nit is normal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it is not punished at all, it means it becomes normal. So we must\nnot normalise it. Punishment makes people understand that this is not\nnormal,\u201d Cholid said on 28 June 2026, as quoted from the MUI\nwebsite.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-yusril-responds-to-muis-proposed-lgbt-criminal-code-bill-1783655669", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }