Ideas of “Indonesian-ness” continue to be bound by state ideology, religion, and “(eastern) culture”. This got me thinking about what actually makes us feel Indonesian. The dogmatic interpretations of religion presented by fundamentalist groups reinforce this idea of a static, unchanging culture. The democratic era has also provided more space for religious fundamentalism, which was strongly suppressed by the military regime. We were educated to think that culture is fixed, that differences are threatening and alien, never mind the multiple interactions across cultures now possible in a globalised world.
The current generation is living with the legacy of this idea. Under Soeharto’s New Order, anything that conflicted with the state ideology was considered foreign and a threat to Indonesian moral values and culture. While Hafid Abbas, the head of the body, urged the government to be more supportive of LGBT Indonesians, another commissioner, Maneger Nasution, described homosexuality as a deviant sexual practice. Even the commissioners of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) have been unable to reach consensus on the issue. Saleh Partaonan Daulay, the head of Commission VIII in the House of Representatives, shared the same view, stating that same-sex marriage could “ disturb social order”. The Minister of Religious Affairs, Lukman Hakim, last week said that Indonesia could not accept same-sex marriage – a statement interpreted by many more conservative Indonesians as suggesting the state would not accept the existence of LGBT individuals. Yet while the government has appeared reluctant to outlaw homosexuality outright, it has consistently attempted to paint homosexuality as irreconcilable with Indonesian culture. The state has largely maintained this neutral stance, aside from a few exceptions, such as the 2008 Anti-Pornography Law, which classifies homosexuality as a deviant behaviour, and local regulations that have sought to equate homosexuality with prostitution. In fact, homosexuality is neither legal nor illegal in Indonesia. The arguments still coalesce around a binary between natural vis-à-vis unnatural, and the “authenticity” of Indonesian culture, as if homosexuality is a western invention. Observing these arguments, I realised that when it comes to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues, we Indonesians have not moved past the same old debates.
While Indonesian proponents of marriage equality highlighted their Facebook profile pictures with rainbow filters, opponents came up with the standard straight pride slogans: “You are here because your parents were straight,” and so on. It has been almost two weeks since the US Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage but the debate in Indonesia has only just begun. What a pop star can teach us about being Indonesian The government has consistently attempted to paint homosexuality as irreconcilable with Indonesian culture.