Indonesians divided over catch-all anti-porn bill

Source TheAge

By Mark Forbes, Jakarta

A CONTENTIOUS anti-pornography bill is shaping as a litmus test for Indonesia's social direction.

The bill is sparking fervent opposition from the liberal Balinese, with claims that major parties are adopting a conservative Islamic stance ahead of next year's elections.

Indonesia's biggest party, Golkar, is backing the bill, which would legitimise action by community groups to prevent the making, distribution and use of pornography.

Golkar's support almost guarantees passage of the bill, which has a broad definition of pornography as any material that can "arouse lust".

The law was set to be passed on Thursday, but complaints from women, artists and the Balinese postponed the vote, allowing time to narrow the description of pornography and clarify what action anti-porn vigilantes could take.

The bill generated an outcry when proposed two years ago, and was put aside, but Islamic parties have gathered support for the bill and vow it will become law this year.

Only one major party, the PDIP of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, openly opposes the bill. PDIP's representative on the pornography bill committee, Eva Sundari, believes the law will victimise women. "It's so ambiguous," she said. "The definition is too big, it says things that arouse desire are pornography. What about wearing a tight shirt but a long one?

"I think the social cost will be huge if they force it to be enacted into law. This is truly political."
Golkar's support for the bill showed it was becoming more right-wing and Islamic, she said.

A Golkar representative on the committee, Irsjad Sudiro, said a revised bill would be ready for a vote next month. Revisions would include the definition of pornography and a description of sexuality, he said. "Basically, it is only about words."

Although the bill would encourage public monitoring of pornography, that "does not mean that anyone can take the law into his hands as he likes", he said.

Yesterday, Bali's parliament formally objected, saying the bill could criminalise traditional customs and damage the island's lucrative tourism industry.

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said the bill failed to consider Indonesia's cultural diversity. "It should provide sufficient space to accommodate the prevailing local wisdom in different communities across the nation," he said. "Many people in Papua still live naked or half-naked. Are we going to arrest them all?"

The bill's main proponent is the Islamic Prosperous Justice Party, a rising force in politics.
University of Indonesia political analyst Arbi Sanit said legislators knew the bill could increase their support ahead of the elections, particularly from a large number of Muslim voters. (Indonesia, with 200 million people, has the world's largest Islamic population.)

"The bill is not intended to solve problems with pornography, but merely to win elections," he said.