Social Affairs Minister: Proposal for Bill on LGBT Violations Deserves Follow-Up

Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf believes the proposal to draft a bill on LGBT violations, initiated by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), deserves to be followed up and discussed in depth. “Yes, it deserves to be followed up, to be discussed because this is an issue developing in society,” he said after opening a national seminar at the National University auditorium in Jakarta on Tuesday. He explained that future comprehensive discussions need to be held by aligning various perspectives, including conformity with the provisions of religious teachings. The government also views it as necessary to provide ample space and opportunity for the public to oversee this regulatory discourse, given that the process of forming a law in Indonesia involves lengthy stages. “For that reason, we need to give it a chance; the law-making process has its stages. And now it can start with discussions. I think that is all for now,” he said. Previously, the Indonesian Ulema Council revealed that it is currently drafting an academic paper and a Criminal Bill on LGBT to be pushed for inclusion in the House of Representatives’ National Legislation Programme. MUI Deputy Chairman Cholil Nafis confirmed that this legal step was taken because the moral approach and social appeals used so far have been deemed ineffective in responding to the phenomenon in the public sphere. The MUI views the presence of a specific regulation with permanent legal force as essential to provide a legal basis and clearer, firmer regulatory certainty within the state administration regarding this issue. All existing drafts and academic studies are currently being finalised by the relevant commission within the MUI before being formally submitted as the basis for proposing the new law to the legislative body of the House of Representatives.