Forum: Porn committee OKs bikinis -- Oct. 17, p. 9

The intellectual quality (or rather lack thereof) of the Special Committee's announcement is truly astonishing.

Opposition to this bill is not only about whether tourists will be arrested in Bali for wearing bikinis, but about the personal freedom of all Indonesians, whatever their regional or religious background.

This "exemption" for tourists makes it clear that the bikini itself is considered pornographic under the proposed bill, and while bikinis would certainly not be appropriate attire in many circumstances, few would describe them as "pornographic", in the generally accepted meaning of the word.

Presumably if this bill is passed, The Jakarta Post will not be publishing any more photos such as the one on today's Home page ("Bali beach games"). ROB
Sydney

Sharia vs. capitalism -- Oct. 13, p. 1

Prophet Muhammad, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, said: "There will certainly come a time upon mankind in which there will remain nothing useful besides a dinar and a dirham."

The Koran specifies that a means of payment must possess an inherent value that corresponds to its purchasing power. All types of promises of payment -- including our modern paper money -- are nothing other than what are forbidden and cannot be used in financial transactions, because they are unavoidably rooted in interest and Muslims may not profit from interest. DATO' PADUKA SRI MIR KHAN
Kuala Lumpur

Kalla for president -- Oct. 19, p. 2

There is a big difference between nominating someone as a candidate and appointing them as president. The only reason Golkar has nominated JK is that there is absolutely no chance of him becoming president! This way the party faithful can pay homage to JK without any risk of having him come out on top. DAVID
Jakarta

Editorial: Fun and games -- Oct. 18, p. 6

It's just a shame that the police are still out there with their hands out stopping tourists for money while beggars are at all major intersections, the roads remain broken and the island is still covered with garbage that no one seems to really care about. Apart from that, it's great. ALAN
Jakarta