Home

Indonesia widens pornography definition

By Jennifer Henderson

 MELBOURNE - Australians tourists to Bali who show too much skin could be targets of new laws passed in an Anti-Pornography bill. The bill, which was originally drafted in 1999, contains definitions of pornography and restrictions on clothing and behaviour.

Hardline Islamic parties such as KAMMI and The Justice Party have pressured the government to pass the bill. A day before the law was passed hundreds of Muslim Indonesians rallied for its support in Jakarta. They claimed that the bill was vital to protect women and children from sexual attacks.

But Indonesian artists and activists see the legislation as part of a hardline Islamic political agenda. Among those against the bill is Laksmi Pamuntjak, an Indonesian writer, who recently visited Victoria during the Melbourne Writers Festival.

“(The bill) is part and parcel of the recent disturbing shift towards “Islamization” among political parties as they jostle with each other in pandering to so-called Muslim values and constituencies”, Pamuntjak said.

Miss Pamuntjak believes that the new bill may cause Australians to think that Indonesia is moving away from its cultural and religious diversity.

“I think the fact that Indonesia has in the past 10 years been enjoying unprecedented levels of freedom of expression and organisation essential to a pluralistic society has not escaped Australians… the fact that this hard-fought free expression will be lost or sacrificed in the hand of Islamists who care nothing of the existing nation-state, the idea of Indonesia, will not be lost on Australia”.

The bill has been criticised by many due to the restrictions it may place on Indonesian traditional dress and culture. Many Indonesians in the popular tourist island of Bali, like governor Made Mangku Pastika, are among the opponents of the new law.
Dian Islamiati Fatwa a muslim journalist with the Indonesian Service of Radio Australia says the Islamic hardliners aren’t aware of the importance of sexuality in traditional Indonesian culture.

“They always claim that pornography comes from western culture but if you look at candi Borobudur or many temples in Indonesia actually you can see the lingoyani, lingoyani is the symbol of fertility, they also show how to the women and man have intercourse”, Miss Fatwa said.

Due to variation in local law in Indonesia, Miss Fatwa believes that there will be difficulty implementing the bill even though some regions are already governed by strict Islamic sharia law,  which dictate how women can dress and include penalties such as public flogging.

She explains that Islam is only one aspect of Indonesian diversity and can be interpreted differently by moderate Indonesian Muslims.

“Islam is like water in the river it depends on the stone below the water, the stone below the water is green the colour looks green, below the water is red, the colour becomes red”, Miss Fatwa said.

Travellers to Indonesia should be aware of the debate continuing to rage over the Pornography bill and perhaps err on the side of modesty.

 

Photo of male and female genetalia in a Javenese temple

Photo taken by Tan Wee Cheng - source at: http://weecheng.com/indonesia/ero1.gif