Indonesia’s New Criminal Code Bans Sex Outside Of Marriage For Citizens And Tourists
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By unanimous decision, Indonesia’s parliament has passed a new criminal code banning sex outside of marriage, which is punishable by up to a year in jail, NY Post reports.
The new code will also outlaw unmarried individuals from living together. The code will apply to Indonesians and foreigners who visit the country. The country already prohibits adultery and as of Tuesday all of Indonesia’s
political parties supported the ban on premarital sex, despite the growing concerns and the effect it may have on the country’s tourism.
Maulana Yusran, deputy chief of Indonesia’s tourism industry board, called the new code
“totally counter-productive”
as the country’s economy and tourism were just recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We deeply regret the government have closed their eyes. We have already expressed our concern to the ministry of tourism about how harmful this law is,”
he said. U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Sung Kim said at an investment summit that the new code will affect Indonesia’s foreign investments, tourism, and travel to the country.
“Criminalising the personal decisions of individuals would loom large within the decision matrix of many companies determining whether to invest in Indonesia,”
Kim said.
The law will not go into effect for three years due to the drafting of regulations.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
