House passes controversial anti-porn bill

Ati Nurbaiti ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 10/30/2008 2:14 PM  |  Headlines

Cries of joy and shouts of Alhamdullillah (praise God) came from the balcony of the House of Representatives' plenary hall as the gavel was struck to mark the passage of the controversial bill on pornography.

Compared to those who supported the bill, those who opposed it only occupied two rows on the balcony towards the end of the meeting.

Pro anti-porn law activist Lasmiantini of Salima (Muslim sisterhood) said, "Insyaallah" (God willing), Indonesians will eventually undergo a moral revival -- the basis of a country, and
later economic revival."

"We are very happy with the result of our struggle to protect children, and also to protect women," said Lasmiantini, of several groups who supported the pornography bill.

"If our husbands are (exposed to) pornography then our families will be destroyed."

"Now our children are safe," said Lasmiantini, chairwoman of Salima's Bekasi chapter.

With exposure to pornography contributing to instances of rape and murder, the country was no longer safe for women and children, she said.

Lasmiantini said, under the new law, sinetron (popular television serials) would have to be those "of quality" and contribute moral value, such as the recent hit 'Laskar Pelangi' (Rainbow Troops) -- referring to the movie based on Andrea Hirata's biography of his childhood.

In response to questions of whether she feared any excessive implementation of the new law, while justifying state interference in private matters, she said, "for good things, like an injection, people are negative about it only because they fear it will hurt."

The activists cited revisions to the bill which they said would guarantee that only pornography in the public sphere was regulated.

Meanwhile, Save Indonesian Children (ASA Indonesia) chairwoman Wuryaningsih and a Salima leader both said, "We should work together to watch out for any excesses."

"The law may not be perfect but it is a start ... We must protect our families," she said.

"We really hope that the (pornography) industry can be regulated."

In response to fears among women that they would become unwitting victims of the law, Wuryaningsih said the issue of women was only "political," as if Islamic parties were not behind the law.

"This has nothing to do with the Islamic parties," Wuryaningsih said.

 

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