Feru Lantara, Depok – The Depok municipal government in West Java says that it is preparing to issue a mayoral regulation (perwali) on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) which has proliferated in the city.
“In order to overcome these social deviances a perwali represents a quite effective measure as a regulation to prevent LGBT social deviance”, said Depok Mayor Mohammad Idris on Friday.
He said however that in issuing the perwali on LGBT it must have the support and a legal basis from the central government because regional governments must take the same position as the central government.
Idris asserted that if national regulations are already clear then his government will draft a perwali on LGBT social deviance.
He is concerned that if it takes the form of a bylaw (perda, regional regulation) it could be challenged in court because there is no legal basis under national laws and it could be seen as violating human rights.
“Of course if there is a lawsuit it will all be for nothing. So the government and legislator are waiting for some sort of legal support. At the minimum a presidential regulation (perpres) which can become the bases for a perda specifically on LGBT”, he said.
Idris added that the Depok government has already ordered all related offices to collect data on the LGBT social deviance in the city.
According to Idris, the government does not yet have any valid data. The information which is currently available is not data on LGBT but data on the spread of and people living with HIV/AIDS (OdHA).
“The Depok municipal government (Pemkot) doesn’t have any valid data on LGBT. The information we have is on the spread of or HIV/AIDS infections which is from RSUD [public hospitals] and reports to the Dinkes [Healthcare Office]. They don’t want to hand over the data and have referred us to hospitals in Jakarta and other areas. Those who are infected with AIDS are not necessarily LGBT”, he reiterated.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was Depok siapkan peraturan LGBT.]
Source: https://www.antaranews.com/berita/768847/depok-siapkan-peraturan-lgbt
