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mazing, but true. In a country where Bhinneka Tunggal Ika or Unity in Diversity is enshrined not only in the constitution but emblazoned in its emblem, yet another ridiculous pronouncement was made by a ranking minister last week. Not one of his Cabinet colleagues, nor the president, made any effort to criticize him or distance themselves from him. Where are the protests from activists, from academics, from women at large? I for one have seen precious little, other than the scorn penned by a few journalists and voiced by a handful of commentators.

I can only assume that most people have shrugged this incident off as yet another meaningless meandering of a government that people have learnt to disregard. As if no greater challenge faces the nation, a taskforce has been appointed to set the country’s new moral standards and hemlines above the knee have immediately been named Public Enemy No. 1 by the esteemed leader of the esteemed taskforce.

Most women, leaders of minority groups and cultural troupes, appear to have ignored the assault on their freedom of choice. Conspicuous by their silence, they refuse to bestow any credibility to the proclamation.

The danger to society at large lies in the silence being misunderstood for acceptance. It is entirely possible that a bigoted and myopic individual in a position of power could convince himself that he has spoken for the majority.

The fact that this is the country with the world’s largest Muslim population is well-known. But there are several other facts that seem to have escaped the self-righteous minister’s understanding of circumstances. Among them, the fact that it is not Saudi Arabia, regardless of the origins of Islam. Or the fact that this is not the Islamic Republic of Iran, or anywhere else. Or the belief that democracy of the majority does not mean democracy for the majority and submission by everyone else.

The minister probably believes he has the support of his fellow Muslims to lower hemlines. If so, nothing could be further from the truth. Moving from personal opinion to the opinion of the people, here are some sobering realities. If the minister believes his views are shared by fellow Muslims, he may wish to reconsider. Women do not wish to be treated as chattel in today’s Indonesia. For some years now, only one in three Indonesians believe that “women should take care of running their homes and leave running the country to men”. See what happens when you do that? Just in case the leader and his taskforce have any difficulty in understanding the verdict of the people, approximately 66 percent of Indonesians disagree with the macho view. That includes men and women, young and old. And most importantly in this context, the disdain is shared by the overwhelming majority of their fellow Muslims, men and women alike. Not surprisingly, fewer women than men agree with this archaic view of contemporary life. Fluctuations in trends do occur, especially when economic circumstances unsettle the peace, such as fuel-price hikes. When the impact was felt in 2007-2008, just about 20 percent of Indonesians believed that women should stay at home.

As recovery reclaimed confidence, more among the minority expressed their faith in their perception of traditional gender roles.

His comrade-in-arms, the minister of telecommunications, led a similar assault on freedom by attempting to filter out all porn sites. It would take an 18-year-old less than 30 seconds to prove that the effort is a miserable failure, one that is estimated to have cost the taxpayer over a hundred million dollars.

Coalition politics has rendered the government powerless. But if the ministers who are inflicting their blinkered views of the fundamentalist minority on the moderate majority believe there is a method in their madness, they need to seek out the real truth for themselves. Dubious connections between miniskirts, pornography and rape have no basis in science or research.

Fear of divine wrath keep many believers reciting ancient precepts of religious teachings even today. Regardless, growing numbers of the faithful are learning to take control of their minds. Take for example the issue of adultery. While traditional views condemning the culprits are only to be expected from practicing Muslims and Catholics alike, a softening is noticeable when push comes to shove. The number of people who agree with the shariah law requiring “those committing adultery should be whipped to death in public” is on the decline. In the minority, less than one in three people agree today. If ever there was a need for such punishment, it would have been a very long time ago. Laws such as these were never a part of life in Indonesia, nor is there a desire to have them introduced tomorrow.

Politicians, regardless of their own religious views, need to take note of public opinion, only because dinosaurs head for extinction. Businessmen who fund their campaigns would do well to advise caution as well. Otherwise, the only growth industry in Indonesia could well become the niqab one day. Enough said, for freedom of choice.

These opinions are based on Roy Morgan Single Source, the country’s largest syndicated survey. More than 26,000 respondents are interviewed every year, week after week. The data is projected to reflect the opinions of 87 percent of the population, 14 years of age and over.

The writer can be contacted at debnath.guharoy@roymorgan.com