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House speaker agrees to criminalize LGBT behaviour

Tempo - January 25, 2018

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Jakarta – Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Bambang Soesatyo supports the prosecution of Lesbian, Gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) deviant behavior and is optimistic that it would be regulated in the Bill on Penal Code.

One of the examples is same-sex marriages that are made public and publicized. "This must be categorized as a criminal act and should be punishable. Hence, an article must be put in place that stipulates the prosecution of LGBT deviant behavioral violations," Soesatyo had noted in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Soesatyo revealed that he had met with interfaith leaders, and they had all voiced their opposition to the spread of LGBT behavior in society. The DPR speaker opined that the state should stop such deviant sexual behavior by formulating stringent rules. "I met with some interfaith leaders. They voiced the same concerns. The state should intervene in private spheres," he remarked.

Soesatyo, who is a Golkar Party politician, stated that Commission III of the DPR is still holding discussions on broadening the meaning of adultery and punishment for LGBT behavior.

According to the DPR speaker, various practitioners, religious leaders, and the government had been invited to discuss this matter, and it is expected that the draft of the Criminal Code will be completed before the DPR's term ends in 2019.

"We also invite practitioners of academics and experts, including those from the government, to participate in the discussion," he noted.

Members of the Working Committee on the Draft Law on the Revision of the Criminal Code from the PPP Faction Arsul Sani believes that the prosecution for LGBT should not be for their status as perpetrators but for the deviant behavior they exhibit in public.

Sani explained that the extension of the criminal section for LGBT is not only for same-sex relations but also for sexual relations involving the opposite sex.

"Deviant behavior exhibited in public is punishable not only for LGBT people but also for men and women. Men and women found kissing in public are punishable, as it amounts to pornography," Sani elaborated.

Sani stated that by expanding the same-sex offense article of the law, acts that are punishable are not only committed against minors but also adults, and all factions of the House support this move.

- Antara

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2018/01/25/055915147/House-Speaker-Agrees-to-Ciminalize-LGBT-Behaviour.