By: Raditya Rahman)*
Discussion of the RKUHP (Draft of the Criminal Code) will be carried out openly. With an open discussion, it is hoped that the people will better understand why the Criminal Code must be revised and its importance in criminal law in Indonesia.
The Criminal Code (Book of Criminal Law) will be revised because it is more than 100 years old, and is no longer relevant if applied today. However, this revision will take a long time because there are so many articles. In addition, the articles and paragraphs of the RKUHP are made to protect the public from various dangerous criminal acts, so it is natural that the revision process takes a long time.
Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights (HAM) Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej stated that the discussion of the RKUHP was conducted in an open, but limited manner. The limitation in question is not from the start. The goal is that the public does not focus on the articles at the beginning of the RKUHP, but directly focuses on 14 issues that are considered controversial by the public.
In a sense, President Jokowi runs democracy in Indonesia because every Indonesian citizen (WNI) has the right to make decisions that can change their lives. Even though they are represented by members of the DPR RI as representatives of the people, Indonesian citizens are allowed to watch live on television about the discussion of the RKUHP.
This kind of openness upholds democracy in a country. President Jokowi’s government upholds democracy and maintains the trust of the people. There are no longer closed meetings that suddenly have to be obeyed by all Indonesian citizens, as in the New Order era.
When there are still demonstrations regarding the RKUHP, it will be very outrageous because the government has announced the revision of the Criminal Code since many years ago, including the explanation. There has been transparency regarding the process of discussing this bill and the public can oversee it directly. There is no need for a demonstration because it is still a pandemic period and it could be that the demonstrators have never read the explanation of the RKUHP by the government.
There has been transparency regarding the RKUHP including explanations from several state officials. It is hoped that the public will respect the process of revising the Criminal Code and not make a fuss about it. If it’s still being demoed then what do you want? The open trial is wrong, but the closed session is still wrong, even though President Jokowi’s government has established democracy with this kind of openness.
If all Indonesians could see the RKUHP discussion meeting in person, they would understand why the Criminal Code would be revised. Besides being too old-fashioned, the Criminal Code is also no longer relevant to the information technology era. Therefore, there are articles in the RKUHP that regulate the cyber world and social media, so that people are protected from crimes in cyberspace.
An open discussion of the RKUHP will go directly to the 14 articles in the RKUHP which are considered controversial. If there is an open discussion, it is hoped that the public will understand and no longer consider it a controversial article. These articles are not detrimental, but are made for the safety of all Indonesian citizens.
The article that is considered controversial is about living law or customary law. The community was initially afraid that they would be subject to customary law. In fact, if you do not violate the customs and habits of a certain area, you will not be subject to this article. Is it not where the earth is tread there is the sky upheld? Don’t be afraid of customary law if you haven’t done anything wrong.
Furthermore, there is an article regarding the death penalty, which is used as the last sentence. This does not protect convicts facing the death penalty. Instead, this was made as a last option (and replaced with a life sentence) because it shows that Indonesia is a country that does not shoot from the ground even though it is a prisoner.
If any prisoner gets a life sentence then he will realize his mistake, because he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Indonesia still upholds the law but does not arbitrarily and does not shoot prisoners arbitrarily. Do not let it be twisted into protection for prisoners because they still have to be imprisoned until the end of their lives.
The next article that is considered controversial is about adultery. It is precisely this article that must be socialized first because it will secure morale in this country. If there is this article, the community will not do anything for fear of being hit by the RKUHP. Indonesia is a democratic country, not a liberal country whose people get along too freely.
No one will be wrongly arrested because of the adultery article. People are asked to be calm and not to think negatively. In fact, this article is the most favored by the figures because it will reduce immoral incidents in Indonesia.
The discussion of the RKUHP was carried out in an open session and the community waited with full of hope. With openness, it shows that the government upholds democracy
