November 26, 2025 | 02:43 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights has proposed a fundamental change to how minor criminal offenses are penalized, calling for prison sentences stipulated in regional regulations to be replaced with fines.
The move is part of a broader legal overhaul aimed at harmonizing thousands of local bylaws with the country’s newly revised Criminal Code, which no longer recognizes imprisonment as a sanction at the regional level.
Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej presented the proposal during a Working Committee meeting on the Criminal Adjustment Bill with the House of Representatives’ Commission III on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.
He said the conversion is necessary to ensure consistency across Indonesia’s multi-tiered legal system.
“Thus, the thousands of regional regulations that still impose prison terms will be converted into fines,” Hiariej said at the Parliament complex.
Under the proposal, imprisonment clauses tied to single-fine provisions would be adjusted according to the legal subject. Individuals would face a maximum Category II fine of up to Rp10 million, while corporations could be fined up to a maximum Category V, or around Rp500 million.
“If the perpetrator is an individual acting on behalf of a corporation, the adjustment will be based on the financial gain involved,” he added.
Prison penalties would therefore be replaced with fines of up to Category IV for individuals and up to Category VIII for corporations.
The conversion would also apply to offenses that do not involve financial benefit: individuals would face a maximum Category III fine, and corporations up to Category V.
The proposal comes as the House and the government fast-track deliberations on the Criminal Adjustment Bill following the passage of the revised Law No. 8/1981 on Criminal Procedure.
Commission III chair Habiburokhman aims to complete the bill before Parliament begins its recess on December 10.
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