Jakarta, Indonesia, Dec 3, 2018 / 14:48 pm
Human rights groups are criticizing a smartphone app being rolled out by the Indonesian government which would allow citizens to file heresy reports against groups with unofficial or unorthodox religious practices.
The app, "Smart Pakem," is available for download in the Google Play store and was launched by Jakarta's Prosecution Office, which said it aims to streamline the previously-tedious and complicated written heresy reporting system.
Users can report from their phones the practice of any unrecognized religion, or unorthodox interpretations of the country's six officially recognized religions: Islam, Catholicism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Protestantism.
"The objective...is to provide easier access to information about the spread of beliefs in Indonesia, to educate the public and to prevent them from following doctrines from an individual or a group that are not in line with the regulations," Nirwan Nawawi, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, told AFP.