A Socio-Legal Analysis of Normativizing Maja Labo Dahu in Regional Lawmaking: A Proposed Hybrid Sanction Mechanism in Bima, Indonesia

The incorporation of local wisdom into regional legislation remains underexamined in Indonesia, particularly when moral-spiritual philosophies must be translated into clear, enforceable, and rights-compatible legal norms. This study examines how Maja Labo Dahu, the Bima philosophy of social and spiritual accountability commonly expressed as shame and fear, is recognized and normativized in Bima Regency and Bima City. Using a qualitative socio-legal design, the study combines doctrinal analysis of six national legal instruments, selected regional regulations and planning documents, and ten semi-structured interviews conducted in 2025 with six government officials, two customary leaders, and two religious leaders. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis, documentary comparison, and statutory, hierarchical, systematic, and purposive legal analysis. The findings show that Maja Labo Dahu is reflected in a city motto, planning language, and informal governmental programmes but has not been translated into a complete framework of legal duties, competent authorities, sanctions, procedures, and remedies. The study defines this condition as an institutional void, signifying normative, institutional, and procedural absence rather than the absence of cultural recognition or government activity. The study proposes a legally bounded Hybrid Sanction Mechanism that combines voluntary restorative responses for minor, non-criminal conduct with regional administrative measures only where expressly authorized by national legislation. Serious criminal conduct must instead be referred to the criminal justice process established and authorized under national law. The model contributes to the application of Responsive Law and legal pluralism in decentralized governance through procedurally bounded cultural translation.