An Indonesian university in the country’s West Sumatra region requires students to declare they are not LGBTI before admitting them.

The Universitas Andalas (Unand) in Padang, West Sumatra came under fire for a section on its website that said prospective students must sign a letter declaring that they did not identify as LGBTI.

The page was removed last week but it was not because of public pressure.

Unand’s chancellor Tafdil Husni told Indonesian media that the university still does not accept LGBTI students.

‘We removed it (the page) because it was incomplete. We will complete the requirements, and then make it as a guide for new students,’ he told Tempo yesterday.

‘If they don’t sign the form, then they can’t enter Unand.’

Tafdil said because Unand was a state university, it could refuse education to LGBTI people because of religious teachings. Indonesia is a majority Muslim country.

The chancellor argued LGBTI people could be a bad influence and if any LGBTI students snuck through the application process they would be ‘rehabilitated’ before they are expelled.

Unconstitutional discrimination

But according to the Padang Legal Aid Institute (LBH) university’s LGBTI ban is unconstitutional. While the Indonesian Constitution does have anti-discrimination clauses, it does not protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender.

‘The [non-LGBT declaration] form hurts the principles and non-discrimination values in education,’ LBH Padang director Era Purnama Sari told Coconuts Jakarta.

LBH Padang will ask Unand to remove it requirement for people to declare they are not LGBTI.