Agak Laen, When the World is Busy Organizing AI, Indonesia Just Confirms the Curse

Illustration. (AI)

JAKARTA - While many countries are busy regulating artificial intelligence (AI) and its risks, Indonesia is taking steps in a no less futuristic direction - or maybe the opposite. Starting January 2, 2026, the practice of santet officially enters the criminal realm. The state passed it through the new Criminal Code (KUHP).

In the regulation, the perpetrators of witchcraft are threatened with a punishment that is not trivial. Prison up to 1 year 6 months or a fine of Rp. 200 million. If the practice is made into a profession or a means of livelihood, the threat increases to 2 years in prison or a fine of Rp. 266 million. This provision is contained in Article 252 paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code.

In paragraph (1) it is stated, "Every person who declares that he has supernatural power, informs, gives hope, offers, or provides assistance to others that because of his actions can cause illness, death, or mental or physical suffering, is sentenced to imprisonment for a maximum of 1 year 6 months or a maximum fine of category IV. "

Meanwhile, paragraph (2) states that if the act is carried out as a livelihood or habit, the penalty can be increased.

Chairman of the YLBH Supervisory Board Catur Bhakti and a legal practitioner, Hendra J Kede, assessed that this rule is a new chapter of Indonesian criminal law. According to him, for the first time, positive law gives space for seekers of justice to process the practice of santer shamanism, which has been difficult to touch by law.

Until now, he said, the problem has always been the same: proof.

"Although it is difficult to prove the material form of the results of the witchcraft, this Article 252 is a formal offense," said Hendra in a statement in Jakarta, Tuesday, January 6, 2021.

This means, he continued, the legal process is no longer dependent on proof of the consequences or effects of the sanatorium itself.

According to him, the logic of the law has changed. The court is not asked to determine whether the santet is really "successful", it is enough to assess whether the act of practicing santet was carried out.

With the construction of a formal delict, he continued, the police do not need to test supernatural wounds or present metaphysical evidence that has never been known in procedural law.

Hendra said that this approach was considered to be able to suppress the practice of shamanic santeria in the future. The state is only focused on his actions, without having to be dragged into the area of proof which has been beyond the logic of the law.

However, the challenge, he said, actually arises at that point. If the results do not need to be proven, according to Hendra, then the entire burden is on the proof of the act.

"Law enforcement officers are required to carefully distinguish between the practice of shamanic medicine and just stories, suggestions, or claims that have been alive in society," he said.

Hendra assessed that in the midst of a world grappling with artificial intelligence and regulation of cutting-edge technology, Indonesia is actually opening a new chapter of law for matters that have been considered intangible. According to him, the country has regulated it. There is only one question, he said, how to prove it without turning the courtroom into a mystical arena. "It's a bit laen," joked Hendra.