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July 20, 2026

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How a national security threat label has reignited Indonesia’s LGBTQ debate

Indonesia last October classified the “spread of LGBTQ culture” as one of the country’s non-military threats. A series of developments thrust the provision into the public eye this month, sparking a debate.

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SINGAPORE: For more than eight months, a provision tucked away in an Indonesian presidential regulation on national defence drew little public attention.

In an appendix to Presidential Regulation No. 111/2025 on the General National Defence Policy signed in October last year, the government classified the “spread of LGBTQ culture” as one of the country’s non-military threats.

The clause, referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer culture, appeared alongside a range of other threats deemed capable of affecting national resilience. They included illegal trafficking, natural resource theft, terrorism, atheism and radicalism.

A presidential regulation is a legally binding regulation published in the State Gazette, while General National Defence Policy documents are highly technical and usually attract little public attention outside government and defence circles.

But a series of developments thrust the provision into the public eye this month, sparking a debate on the place of LGBTQ issues in state policy and the extent to which social issues should be framed within Indonesia’s defence strategy.

The issue quickly spread beyond social media into mainstream Indonesian media with national outlets including Antara, Kumparan, and Tempo examining the regulation and prompting public responses from senior government officials.

Some observers and activists say the clause could heighten discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in society, even as Indonesian ministers have defended the regulation while saying the government has no intention of curtailing the fundamental rights of citizens.

“As Indonesian citizens, LGBTQ people are entitled to education, employment, healthcare and other public services without restrictions, segregation or discrimination,” Indonesia’s Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai told CNA in a phone interview.

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Indonesia’s Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai. (Photo courtesy of Human Rights Ministry)

But he added that Indonesian society is not ready to accept the LGBTQ community, even as the state remains obliged to respect, protect and fulfil every citizen’s rights to education, employment, healthcare and public services.

“The time has not yet come to formally recognise them as an official group because society is not yet ready to accept them,” he said.

HOW THE CLAUSE CAME TO PUBLIC ATTENTION

While it remains unclear what first drew widespread attention to the provision, it resurfaced amid a series of developments involving LGBTQ issues. One was a Pride Month-themed social media post in mid-June by Suara Mahasiswa, a student publication at the University of Indonesia.

The post had led to a heated online debate, with critics arguing it was inconsistent with Indonesia’s religious and social norms. They questioned why it invoked the Pancasila national ideology to defend the LGBTQ community. Pancasila comprises five principles: Belief in one God, civilised humanity, national unity, democracy and social justice.

The backlash prompted the university to publicly distance itself from the post and launch an internal review.

Then in late June, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said it was preparing an academic paper and a draft bill to criminalise LGBTQ-related conduct for Parliament’s National Legislation Programme.

MUI deputy chairman Muhammad Cholil Nafis argued that moral appeals alone were no longer sufficient to curb what he described as the growing activities and campaign surrounding LGBTQ culture.

“If there are no legal penalties at all, it eventually becomes normal. We should not normalise it. Punishment helps people understand that it is not normal,” he said.

“Deviant activities, such as same-sex parties, are now increasingly being displayed openly in public without any sense of shame,” he added.

Scrutiny then shifted to the new regulation that had previously gone largely unnoticed.

The belated attention came as no surprise to Agus Wahyudi, head of the Inter-Religious Studies Programme at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta.

Documents such as the General National Defence Policy typically circulate within government bureaucracy and rarely become the subject of public debate, he said.

But a provision can take on political significance when a series of events – in this case, the Pride Month-themed social media post and the MUI’s planned bill – draws the public’s notice, said Agus.

“What changed was not necessarily the policy itself, but the public attention it attracted,” Agus said.

WHY WAS IT PLACED IN A NATIONAL DEFENCE DOCUMENT?

Asked whether the presidential regulation represented the first national policy to explicitly mention LGBTQ, human rights lawyer Asfinawati said Indonesia’s 2008 Pornography Law referred to “lesbian” and “homosexual” acts in its explanatory notes to a provision banning the production, distribution and sale of pornographic material.

It defined what the law described as “deviant sexual intercourse” for the purposes of pornography offences, rather than creating a standalone offence based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Presidential Regulation No. 111/2025 goes further by classifying the “spread of LGBTQ culture” itself as a non-military threat, argued Asfinawati, the former chair of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation.

“This regulation no longer links it to sexual conduct. Simply having a particular sexual orientation or gender identity is placed within a threat framework,” she said.

Experts have questioned whether a national defence framework was an appropriate instrument for addressing issues such as sexual orientation and gender identity.

In principle, national defence should focus on military threats, said Tangguh Chairil, a lecturer in security studies at the Department of International Relations at Binus University, Jakarta.

Indonesia, however, classifies threats into three categories: Military, non-military and hybrid. As a result, issues beyond the traditional defence sphere are increasingly may be viewed as national security issues.

“Because the definition is so broad, almost anything can be treated as a national security threat,” Tangguh told CNA.

Classifying LGBTQ culture as a non-military threat under a defence framework means the issue may be treated as a security concern requiring state attention and resources, he added.

“Issues that have been successfully securitised tend to receive greater attention than others,” he said.

Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections, told news outlet Tempo on Jul 9 that “non-military threat” was used to categorise risks against national resilience.

In the socio-cultural context, “resilience” refers to values, ethics, character of the younger generation, families, digital space, and social cohesion, he said.

“What the government perceives as a threat is the campaign, propaganda, and dissemination of LGBT behaviour aimed at altering the values that align with the nation’s culture and morality,” he added.

Indonesia’s Chief Minister for Law and Human Rights, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, speaks as Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, listens during a press conference following their meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 3, 2024. (REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan)

Asfinawati said the regulation cannot serve as the legal basis for introducing new criminal provisions or for regional governments to impose criminal sanctions unless authorised by law.

Under Indonesian law, a person’s sexual orientation as well as consensual same-sex relations between adults are not, by themselves, criminal offences. The exception is Aceh province, which implements Islamic criminal law and punishes same-sex relations.

“A presidential regulation is legally binding, but it also has clear limits,” Asfinawati said.

“It cannot conflict with the constitution or higher-ranking laws. In principle, it must either implement a mandate set out in higher legislation or regulate matters relating to the administration of government.”

A man accused of having gay sex being caned in Banda Aceh on Jan 28, 2021. (PHOTO: AFP)

Human Rights Minister Pigai said the state retains the authority to restrict the exercise of certain rights when broader interests are at stake, including national integration and public morality, he added.

Under the Siracusa Principles, an internationally recognised framework governing limitations on human rights, such restrictions are permissible provided they meet established criteria, Pigai said.

He cited restrictions on pornography and conduct deemed to violate public morality as examples of limitations he believes can be justified.

“Whether LGBTQ threatens national integration is still debatable, depending on one’s perspective. But the state is also allowed to impose restrictions when it concerns the nation’s morality,” he said.

CONCERNS ABOUT DISCRIMINATION

Human rights watchers and LGBTQ groups in Indonesia said the regulation could heighten discrimination against the community.

“This new regulation will further fuel misunderstanding and even hate speech against LGBT individuals,” said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Since 2016, Human Rights Watch has recorded discrimination against LGBTQ people in Indonesia ranging from harassment and persecution to local regulations that the organisation says restrict their rights.

In a report published in early July, Human Rights Watch said harassment and attacks against LGBTQ university students had escalated during Pride Month, with at least 10 public universities adopting discriminatory regulations while curbing student media coverage and social media discussions on gender and sexual diversity.

Asfinawati said the new regulation may have repercussions on the LGBTQ Indonesians in worsening the social stigma and discrimination against them.

Arus Pelangi, Indonesia’s LGBTQ umbrella organisation, documented 94 cases of violence targeting LGBTQ individuals, involving a total of 141 victims in 2024-2025.

She cited how for instance, it could influence the way entities such as government agencies and regional administrations shape administrative policies.

“In practice, the regulation could be followed by new rules at public universities or ministries restricting the recruitment of people perceived to be LGBTQ. Its impact could therefore be both real and far-reaching,” said Asfinawati.

An activist carrying a rainbow flag takes part in a rally to support women’s rights calling for gender equality and to protest against gender discrimination, during the International Women’s Day outside the National Monument (Monas) complex in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 8, 2022. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)

Hurriyah, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Indonesia, who goes by one name, added the regulation risks reinforcing unequal treatment of citizens and weakening the state’s obligation to protect everyone equally.

“In terms of citizenship, this reinforces an unequal model of citizenship in Indonesia, where some people effectively become second or third-class citizens whose fundamental rights are not fully recognised,” she said.

Ec’ha Waode, secretary-general of Arus Pelangi, called the policy “deeply hurtful” and said it has made LGBTQ individuals more anxious.

“The impact is felt not only in everyday life but also on social media,” Ec’ha said. “Some people have withdrawn from public life.”

Dede Oetomo, founder of GAYa Nusantara, one of Indonesia’s oldest LGBTQ advocacy organisations, said he has not yet observed the new regulation having a direct impact on the daily lives of Indonesia’s LGBTQ community.

He also noted that local authorities in cities such as Solo and Malang have announced measures – ranging from public awareness campaigns and school-based education programmes to new local guidelines aimed at discouraging what officials describe as the spread of LGBTQ behaviour – after the provision made headlines.

Coordinating Minister Yusril dismissed the notion that the regulation would permit discrimination against LGBTQ individuals.

“It should not be interpreted as if the government is welcoming people to persecute, commit acts of violence, or threaten LGBT individuals,” he said.

“The approach taken remains within the legal corridor, respects the dignity of every citizen, and considers the social, cultural, and religious values that exist among Indonesian society,” he added.

Source: CNA/ew(cc)

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