By: Panji Saputra)*
The government is intensifying the socialization of the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP), which will soon be legalized. With socialization and dialogue, the public will understand why the Criminal Code needs to be replaced with the RKUHP.
The RKUHP is a very important bill because it will replace the Criminal Code, which is more than 100 years old. The Criminal Code must be replaced because it is a legal product made by the Dutch when they colonized Indonesia. But there are still many people who do not understand it. Therefore, the government is intensively socializing the RKUHP.
The Ministry of Law and Human Rights held a socialization and dialogue on the RKUHP at Hassanudin University, Makassar. Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Omar Sharif stated that his party received a lot of input on the RKUHP. There is a suggestion regarding the article on insulting the president and his deputy, it needs to be explained again so that it does not have multiple interpretations.
In a sense, the draft RKUHP mentions a prohibition against insulting the president and vice president. Either in the form of oral, written, picture, or video. People are shocked because they see it as silencing democracy, even though it is not like that, because what is prohibited is insults, not criticism.
In a democracy, it is allowed to give criticism, suggestions, and input to the government. But what is forbidden is insults, and in this information technology era, unfortunately there is misuse of applications. Gadgets and programs are used to edit videos and photos that insult the president and his deputy. Even though the president is a symbol of the state so it should not be insulted to the point of being outrageous.
The prohibition on insulting the president is made in the RKUHP, in order to uphold democracy. If not, it will deviate from being a liberal, even though Indonesia is not a liberal country and its freedom is excessive. Do not let freedom of opinion after the opening of the gates of reform harm others.
Edward continued, another input regarding the RKUHP was regarding poultry. In the RKUHP there is an article that stipulates that people’s pets may not enter their neighbors’ yards or gardens. If not, the owner can be punished with a criminal sentence and the animal taken forcibly.
The proposal from the students in socializing the RKUHP at Unhas was very good because birds are also pets that are prohibited from entering people’s yards. This proposal is brilliant because there needs to be an explanation, what pets are prohibited from entering for fear of disturbing other people’s plants?
If there is socialization of the RKUHP, it will be very good because there is an introduction to the articles of the RKUHP, so that students and civilians know the original draft. They do not read from fake websites whose news has been ‘fried’ in such a way and has cornered the RKUHP, and contains false articles or those that have been removed from the draft.
Students and participants in the socialization of the RKUHP will understand that the article regarding dental artisans has been revised. The dental profession is not prohibited, but regulated because they are not dentists. The service that is allowed is to make and install dentures, not braces or anything else.
Therefore, the socialization of the RKUHP continues to be carried out by the government and travels throughout Indonesia, not only in Java. Socialization and dialogue are carried out in person, not online , so that discussion sessions can be carried out directly without relying on the internet network. The community is enthusiastic about participating in this activity because apart from being able to meet directly with ministers or other officials, they can also express their aspirations regarding the RKUHP.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Law, Politics, and Security Mahfud MD stated that his party would disseminate the RKUHP to 11 cities in Indonesia. The socialization of the RKUHP is a direct instruction from President Jokowi. Law is a reflection of public awareness and desire, and must always be understood by the community. Therefore, President Jokowi asked for the socialization of the RKUHP to the regions in various agencies.
The socialization of the RKUHP was not only carried out on campuses such as at Hassanudin University, but also in other places. The participants are also diverse, not only students but also other civilians. The more people who take part in the socialization, the better, because they will understand the RKUHP and its urgency in replacing the outdated Criminal Code, and cannot keep up with the dynamics of society.
Discussion and socialization will give an understanding that the Criminal Code is very outdated, because it was made during the Dutch colonial period. Moreover, the Criminal Code is no longer used in the Netherlands, so in Indonesia it is also urgent to replace it. Indonesia must be truly independent and also constitutionally independent, because it uses homemade legal products, not foreign ones, let alone those made by the colonialists.
The government is intensively conducting socialization of the RKUHP so that the public is more aware of the contents and purposes of the articles in it. They understand that this bill will be passed by the end of 2022 and is very important, because it will replace the very outdated Criminal Code. In the dialogue and socialization of the RKUHP, the people are happy because they can convey their aspirations and various proposals to the government.
)* The author is a contributor to the Nusantara Reading Room
