Indonesia Enforces New Penal Code
The Spin
Pro-government narrative
Indonesia's new criminal code ends a century of colonial legal dependency and replaces it with a unified, rights-based system grounded in restorative justice. By expanding alternatives to prison, protecting victims and limiting state intrusion through complaint-based offenses, it modernizes enforcement while honoring local values. Reforming colonial dualism is a necessary step toward complete legal sovereignty, proportional justice and national legal coherence.
Government-critical narrative
While Indonesians were excited to break free from the legacy of Colonialism, this is not how they wanted it to happen. The new criminal code replaces colonial control with state intrusion, criminalizing private life, belief and expression. Instead of the Netherlands controlling society, these provisions on sex, blasphemy and protest empower Indonesian tyrants to target women, minorities and dissenters, undermining rights in the name of sovereignty.