Jokowi's Birthday, Students Demo In Front Of The State Palace

Students in front of the State Palace held a demonstration to coincide with President Jokowi's birthday/ Photo: Rizky Sulistio/ VOI

JAKARTA - A number of students who are members of the National Alliance for Criminal Code Reform held a demonstration at the Horse Statue, National Monument Area (Monas), Gambir District, Central Jakarta, Tuesday, June 21. The action coincided with the birthday of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

Media Coordinator of the All-Indonesian Student Executive Board (BEM SI), Arif Bustanudin Aziz said this action was a response to the many problematic issues contained in the draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) which was recently re-discussed by the House of Representatives (DPR). ) with the government after being postponed in 2019.

"This symbolic action is carried out as a form of our concern so that the draft RKUHP is immediately rejected in the interest of the community. Because, referring to the last draft in 2019, there are 24 crucial issues that are critical to the RKUHP which are considered problematic," said Arif, Tuesday, June 21.

He continued, at the DPR RI Commission III meeting with the government on May 25, 2022, the government and the DPR only touched on 14 crucial issues, most of which are still causing polemics.

Regarding the substance of the 14 issues, there are several articles that are still problematic, some of which are on Living Law, capital punishment, contempt of court, Assault on the President's Dignity and Dignity, Abortion, Hate Speech, and Cohabitation.

"Besides the fourteen crucial issues of the RKUHP discussed in the RDP, there are still problematic articles that deserve to be re-discussed, including Article 273 of the RKUHP and Article 354 of the RKUHP," he said.

Article 273 of the RKUHP, he said, contained a threat of imprisonment or a fine for organizers of parades, demonstrations, or demonstrations without prior notification that would disrupt the public interest, cause trouble or riots.

Article 273 of the RKUHP, according to him, implies that the public needs permission to express opinions in public in order to avoid criminal threats.

"This is contrary to the provisions in Law Number 9 of 1998 concerning Freedom of Expression of Opinions in Public, which only requires notification of the activity of expressing opinions in public and imposes administrative sanctions in the form of dissolution if these provisions are not fulfilled," he said.

"Not only that, Article 273 of the RKUHP also contains an element of rubber without concrete limitations, namely the 'public interest', which is vulnerable to misuse to curb people's freedom to express opinions in public," he said.

On the other hand, Arif added, Article 354 of the RKUHP contains a threat of imprisonment or a fine for anyone who insults public power or state institutions through information technology facilities.

This, he said, in addition to threatening the freedom of opinion and expression of citizens against public power or state institutions that should be criticized by the public, will actually cause significant problems, considering that Article 354 of the RKUHP is not a complaint offense.

"Thus, anyone can report someone for insulting public power or state institutions circulating in the electronic realm, where this can injure the democratic climate and freedom of expression in Indonesia," he explained.

Furthermore, he said, basically, the RKUHP is here to become the basis of criminal law in Indonesia which will have a direct impact on the life of the wider community. Unfortunately, until now, the public still has not had access to the latest draft of the RKUHP.

"In fact, there are many problem points from the September 2019 version of the draft RKUHP that need to be substantially reviewed and discussed together, including Article 273 of the RKUHP and Article 354 of the RKUHP. The closed attitude of the Government and the Indonesian House of Representatives is unfortunate considering that transparency and meaningful public participation should be prioritized. in the formation of legislation," he said.

The demonstration was heavily guarded by members of the police. Central Jakarta Metro Police Chief Kombes Komarudin said a number of personnel had been alerted to guard and secure the course of the action.

"For personnel, we have temporarily dispatched 560 personnel to be active today," said Kombes Komarudin, Tuesday, June 21.