Next week, Indonesia would adopt its new penal code, which bans sex outside marriage, among other things. In practice, this means that same-sex relationships are criminalized because same-sex marriage is not legal. It would also be illegal to insult the president. It reports CNN.

The president uses his veto

Now President Joko Widodo announces that he is using his veto to delay the final vote because he believes that 14 of the new criminal ball laws need to be further reviewed by Parliament, Reuters reports.

An online call that appealed to the president to just use his veto had collected over 560,000 signatures on Friday.

Indonesia has been working since 2015 on the new legislation to replace the hundred-year-old Dutch colonial laws that exist in the country. Indonesia's Minister of Justice and Human Rights tells CNN that the new legislation is more in line with how Indonesians live today. The proposal for the new criminal ball has the support of the Muslim majority that governs the country and where many want to see the country formed based on a conservative view of Islam.

New "catastrophic" legislation

The human rights organization Human Rights Watch has called the bill "disastrous, not only for women and religious and LGBT minorities, but for all Indonesians," CNN writes.

Recently, a joint statement came from around 20 human rights organizations, several focusing on LGBTQ rights, working in Southeast Asia. They write:

"We appeal to the Indonesian government to rethink the proposed legislation restricting religious freedom, punishing same-sex relationships and opening the door for persecution of LGBT people."

Appeals to the President

The proposal was adopted on Wednesday by the country's House of Representatives. On September 24, Parliament would have taken a position on the proposal, which was predicted to be voted on. So the decision on the future is postponed. In addition to the call online, several organizations have appealed to the country's president Joko Widodo to use his mandate to delay the introduction of legislation.

The new law means that sex outside of marriage can be punishable by up to one year in prison and unmarried couples living together can receive six months in prison. There are also writings that make it easier to state people you suspect are living in relationships without being married.