Who hasn't made a big fuss over Indonesia's new pornography law? Enough of the media's many cons and scant pros, I'm actually quite curious to know how it's going to change our multicultural society.

Clauses in the anti-porn law address concerns regarding culture, fashion and lifestyle; they can be summed up thusly:

-- The prohibition of any nude or pornographic modeling.

-- The prohibition of the public display or performance of anything that includes nudity, "sexy-ness" or any act of sexual intercourse.

-- The banning of sheer materials or garments that show off the body or are deemed indecent.

Indonesia is known for its diversity in culture, tradition and custom. I can't help but wonder, will there be any *originality', if village grannies must wear a uniformed kimono when bathing in the river? Can men in Papua adapt to boxer-briefs when all this time the koteka has been their most 'decent' garment? How about those overheated construction workers, will they be allowed to go bare chested anymore? And will there be urine police in every corner of the city to arrest those drivers who'd like to pee wherever they park?

Imagine, this country now has a 'dress code' for every cultural and geographical site. Malls and department store will surely soon be filled with Marks & Spencer-ish fashion lines and idealistic designers will be chomping at the bit for not being allowed to produce chiffon and lace outfits anymore.

There'll be no more sheer kebayas, sleeveless cocktail dresses or strapless wedding gowns. Ladies, can you live with that? Join me in mourning as I morosely put all my tanktinis into a coffin, to be buried underground.

And what about fashion photography that captures sexy but artistic poses in a creative way? Will we be forced to go back to the vintage styles I found in my mom's 80s Kartini magazines? And will there be restrictions on the way people dance in clubs? Will the ladies do the locomotion dance with their circle or guy friends, as we often witness? Maybe sooner or later there'll be partition in clubs between male and female, hmm...I bet all the gays will be so ecstatic about that...but no shirtless dancing anymore, ok guys?

Not everyone will be bothered by the new rules. Yes, creative industries will face some obstacles expressing their contemporary idealism, but at least the textile industry will be booming, as it will have to produce more fabric to make up for the sleeves and hemlines that have been missing all this time.

By covering up, it is like Mecca has come to Southeast Asia. But is it enough to change this country's mentality or make it more equitable? For your information, there are higher numbers of rape and sexual assault in Saudi Arabia, despite the lack of pornography or pornoaksi media.

Perhaps the media is guilty of overexposing news about sexual crimes -- which normally increase their sales and ratings -- so our government has suddenly decided to make these new regulations to prevent and reverse the trends of the last 10 years of development. Hell, it's extra money for the members of parliament who participated in the long, drawn-out discussions and meetings on the subject, while there were (and still are), clearly, many other issues in this country requiring more urgent attention.

With the new laws, will our fashion industry's growth be able to completely and accurately reflect the vision and creativity of our talented ones? How is the world going to respond to our fashions when they're forced into uniformity and physical appearance is suppressed and controlled by those who probably aren't even aware of global style trends?

I imagine what it would have been like if I were one of the participants in meetings on the pornography laws. After the long ten years between when this law was proposed and finally passed, I would have had enough money from every meeting I attended to do as I pleased.

I'd give back by building low cost grooming and personality development schools anyone wishing to learn about style and how to represent themselves as better Indonesians could enroll in.

Hello, we need urgent action in this sector too! Call me hyperbolic, but don't you think this new pornography law is totally megahyperbollic?

-- Diaz

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