INDONESIA: Debate on Pornography Bill Steers Clear of Religion

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Kalinga Seneviratne

JAKARTA, Apr 3 2006 (IPS) - Public debate on an anti-pornography bill, although presented in parliament by conservative Islamic groups, has managed to steer away from religion.

The bill, initially drafted in 1999 following the overthrow of the long-serving dictator Suharto in the previous year, was reintroduced in parliament in February. It has already undergone revision and is expected to be ready by June.

Balkan Kaplale, member in the house of representatives and chairman of a special committee on the bill, told ‘Tempo’ magazine, last month, that out of 167 organisations and public figures, that gave inputs, more than 85 percent approved the bill. ”Why can’t the rest adjust to the majority voice?” asked the former school principal.

While the government has allowed wide public debate on the bill, prominent figures have been careful not to allow the debate to turn into a religious one.

”This bill is very important not only to stop real (hardcore) porn reaching the public, but also enable regulation of elements of porn in the common media. Regulations should be directed at how it is distributed,” Ade Armando, a member of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) told IPS.

The anti-pornography bill should not be seen as merely an Islamic versus non-Islamic morality issue argues Ignatius Haryanto, founder of the Institute for Press and Development Studies. Rather than focusing on Sharia law, one should look at ”how the bill can protect the rich and colourful cultural background of Indonesia”.

Indonesia may be the world’s largest Muslim country, but its traditional arts have a very strong element of liberal Hindu and Buddhist values, since many parts of the archipelago supported a thriving Hindu, and later Buddhist, civilisation before the arrival of Islam.

Artists have been at the forefront of opposition to the bill. They fear that rich and colourful art forms will vanish from public view if the anti-pornography bill is passed in its present form.

During an artists’ protest last month, organiser Mugiono Kasido said that dancers rejected the bill because, if passed, “traditional dances like tayub, ledek and lengger, which are still performed in central Java, will be condemned because the choreography is categorised as sensual or inciting lust”.

Indonesians often describe themselves as ‘secular Muslims’ – meaning they are liberal. This attitude towards their religion is reflected in the increasing number of Islamic intellectuals – both men and women – who are taking part in the debate on the bill.

Last week, SALIMAH (Muslim Sisterhood), a group of women professionals held a day-long deliberation to draft a response to the anti-pornography bill. Speaking to IPS during the meeting, a spokeswoman for the group, Inke Maris, a former television presenter and currently a strategic communications consultant, explained that the bill excludes traditional modes of dress, ethnic traditions and rituals.

”We Muslims have certain sensitivities to the way we dress and present ourselves. In Indonesia we have a choice,” she argued. ”The bill needs to be revised because the definitions of erotic and sensual acts are not specific enough and prone to subjective interpretation”.

Maris said that SALIMAH supports the bill because there is deep concern in the community to protect women and children from the pornography industry. ”Pornography is available in the streets cheap. Five VCDs could be brought for 10,000 rupiah (little more than one US dollar) anyone can buy even (those that feature) children,” she pointed out. ”What is important is to tighten definitions in the bill to stop sexual exploitation for commercial purposes.”

While an Indonesian version of Playboy is expected to be launched in April here, far more explicit local magazines with pictures of bikini-clad Indonesian women are freely available. Indonesian TV has also become increasingly sexually explicit in its programming in recent years, which prompted KPI to hold a discussion this month, to encourage parents to control the TV watching habits of their children.

Wahyutama (who uses one name following Indonesian custom), a member of the ‘Say No To Pornography Committee’, an Islamic non-governmental organisation, told IPS that they have been conducting roadshows in high schools here to train young people on ways to handle pornography and how not to get addicted to it.

”Most anti-pornography activists are Muslims but, we’re saying it’s not a problem for Muslims only, it’s a social and moral issue. We must not look at it merely from a religious perspective, but as a social problem. We need to control the free availability of this material,” he said.

Amidhan, chairman of the Indonesian Ulema (Islamic Community) Council, believes that there are two reasons for deliberations on this bill. One is that people in Indonesia no longer think pornography is taboo and the other is how to filter the impact of globalisation on the local cultures and identities.

”Actually, press freedom has nothing to do with pornography but it has become difficult to differentiate between magazines that are journalistic creations providing information to the public and pornographic publications,” Amidhan said.

The problem with the bill, in its present form, argues Armando, is that ”it wants to ban not only sexually arousing material in the media, but also sexually arousing behaviour in public such as kissing and the dress (of women)”.

Curiously, the predominantly Hindu tourist island of Bali has threatened to secede from the Indonesian republic if the bill, in its present form, is imposed on them. Its governor Dewa Beratha told ‘Tempo’ that ”all elements of Balinese society rejected the bill because there was a fundamental philosophical problem which is not in line with the philosophy of the Balinese people”.