Jakarta. Indonesia does not criminalize individuals based on their sexual orientation and has no plans to introduce legislation targeting LGBTQ people, Coordinating Minister for Law Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Thursday, following public debate over a 2025 presidential regulation that classifies the promotion of LGBTQ culture as a "non-military threat."

Yusril said Indonesia's new Criminal Code contains no provision that makes a person's sexual orientation a criminal offense.

“What is punishable is conduct, not a person's sexual orientation. Sexual orientation itself cannot be criminalized,” he said in Jakarta.

He added that the government has no plans to draft a specific law governing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals.

Yusril said Indonesian laws are formulated in accordance with the country's cultural values, national philosophy, and religious principles, adding that policies adopted by other countries -- including the legalization of same-sex marriage -- do not automatically serve as a model for Indonesia.

His remarks came in response to public discussion surrounding Presidential Regulation No. 111 of 2025 on the 2025–2029 General Policy on National Defense, signed by President Prabowo Subianto on Oct. 24, 2025.

The regulation lists the promotion of LGBTQ culture among a range of non-military threats, which it defines as "unarmed activities that could endanger national sovereignty, territorial integrity, or public safety." The same category also includes cyberattacks, terrorism, illegal online gambling, illegal online lending, illicit trafficking, drug abuse, climate change, nuclear and chemical hazards, natural disasters, and disease outbreaks.

The regulation does not explain why the promotion of LGBTQ culture is included in the list of non-military threats.

Yusril said the regulation is intended to address the spread of ideas or advocacy that the government considers inconsistent with Pancasila, Indonesia's state ideology, and the country's cultural values, rather than to criminalize individuals because of their sexual orientation.

“Military threats involve the use of armed force, whether from abroad or within the country. Non-military threats are much broader and include issues related to ideology, culture, lifestyles, and efforts to influence public thinking,” he said.

Yusril also stressed that the presidential regulation must not be used to justify harassment, threats, violence, or discrimination against LGBTQ individuals, whose constitutional rights as citizens remain protected under Indonesia's 1945 Constitution.

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