Minister Yusril Responds to MUI's Proposed LGBT Criminal Code Bill
Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra has stated that he respects the proposal by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which is pushing for deliberation of a bill on the criminalisation of LGBT activities. According to Yusril, the government guarantees the right of every person or organisation to express their aspirations in a democratic country.
“The fact that a religious organisation has reportedly taken the initiative to draft such a bill — the government respects that initiative,” Yusril said via WhatsApp message on Thursday, 9 July 2026.
The former Secretary of State declined to comment on the substance of the LGBT criminal law bill, only emphasising that the government is not taking the proposal any further. “Regarding the proposal for an LGBT criminal law bill, the government has, until now, no plans to draft such a bill,” he said.
Amid controversy over the designation of LGBT as a non-military threat to the state, a recommendation has emerged for regulations criminalising the group. The proposal is being driven by the Indonesian Ulema Council, which is working on an academic paper and a draft LGBT Criminal Law Bill to submit to the House of Representatives.
MUI Deputy Chairman Muhammad Cholid Nafis believes the existing legal instruments do not specifically regulate punishment for LGBT individuals whose behaviour is deemed deviant. He noted that same-sex couples no longer feel ashamed about displaying intimacy in public.
For that reason, Cholid is convinced that clear legal regulation is needed, as moral appeals are ineffective in curbing the scale of LGBT activities and cultural campaigns. For Cholid, the LGBT criminal law bill is the answer to anticipating homosexual couples acting in public.
“At present, law enforcers want to be firm, but there are no rules concerning the criminalisation of perpetrators and the LGBT campaign,” said the University of Indonesia postgraduate lecturer in a voice message on Wednesday, 8 July 2026.
Cholid Nafis said MUI’s legal and legislative team is still discussing what form of sanctions will be regulated in the bill. The draft is targeted for completion soon and will be finalised at the Islamic Community Congress in Jakarta on 24-26 July.
In an interview with MUI Digital on 28 June 2026, Cholid Nafis revealed the limits of criminal regulation in the planned bill. He claimed the bill would not criminalise sexual orientation that remains in one’s mind and is not displayed publicly. The bill will focus on those practising and campaigning for LGBT.
According to Cholid, sanctions for perpetrators could take the form of criminal punishment by law enforcement, or ta’zir sanctions aimed at education, to be decided by a panel of judges. Although the LGBT criminal law bill cannot eliminate all deviant acts, he believes the existence of such regulation is crucial to prevent the perception that it is normal.
“If it is not punished at all, it means it becomes normal. So we must not normalise it. Punishment makes people understand that this is not normal,” Cholid said on 28 June 2026, as quoted from the MUI website.