No playmates for Indonesian
playboys By Bill Guerin
JAKARTA - Playboy magazine, which was due
to make its debut in Indonesia next month, is at
the center of a growing anti-pornography debate in
Indonesia.
Parliament is debating a draft
bill outlawing pornography and pornographic
actions, and it could become law by mid-year.
Meanwhile, anti-porn demonstrations have been held
in Jakarta, with Playboy the target of much of the
opposition.
The magazine was founded in
the United States in 1953 but has expanded
operations to some 20 countries, including Brazil,
Russia and Serbia. Despite
opposition, Playboy is planning to publish soon in
India, though the trademark nudes are expected to
be replaced by clothed Indian models.
Indonesia is home to the world's largest
Muslim population, with the vast majority of its
228 million residents adhering to the faith. And
now Muslim organizations are calling for a "more
serious and systemic" movement to fight
pornography and indecent acts, arguing that such
behavior has been proved to damage the morality of
the nation.
"It's okay for Western
countries but not here, where most of the people
are Muslim," said Fauzan al-Anshari, a top
official at the Indonesian Mujahiddin Council
(MMI), which is headed up by jailed militant
cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.
Meanwhile, the
normally moderate Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the
country's largest Muslim organization, has taken
the initiative to kick-start its own
anti-pornography movement. "The publication will
become a turning point in the morality movement,"
executive chairman Hasyim Muzadi said during the
organization's annual congress last March.
Playboy "has no place in our social
norms", he said. Asked about the presence and wide
availability of several local semi-pornographic
publications available in Indonesia, Muzadi said
the whole point to Playboy is that it is seen as a
global trademark of pornography.
"Pornography can ruin the nation's
character, as well as encourage free sex and a
hedonistic way of life, which is unproductive to
the nation's future," he said.
Ma'ruf
Amin, head of the Indonesian Ulama Council
(Majelis Ulama Indonesia, or MUI), which functions
as the National Islamic Law Deliberation Board,
said the government should act to prohibit
publication of Playboy as it would only "raise
social opposition and lead to anarchy among those
who objected". The MUI has already issued a
fatwa condemning pornographic media in
general.
Perhaps the most ominous threat
is from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which
campaigns for Islamic law and regularly mobilizes
gangs of protesters against perceived violators of
Islamic rules at home or abroad. Its leader Habib
Rizieq warned, "If they publish, we will go after
them."
Vice President Yusuf Kalla was the
latest to enter the fray, saying: "From the
government's point of view, we disagree with
Playboy's publication. Playboy's entrance to
Indonesia is made possible because our laws do not
regulate such a matter."
The government
objects to an Indonesian Playboy because the US
version of the magazine sells pornographic images,
and that constitutes a violation of the ethics and
norms of the Indonesian people, the vice president
said, adding, "This is not America."
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has
urged Indonesians not to imitate blindly foreign
cultures that contravene their faith and
tradition.
"There is no need to copy the
lifestyles of foreign countries that are not in
line with the spirit and the personality of our
nation," Yudhoyono said in a keynote national
address last year marking Indonesian Family Day.
But media observer Veven Wardhana has a
different spin on the situation: "Actually,
Indonesians are hypocrites. They will secretly buy
it, but they will not dare to state their approval
- they will even speak as if they reject it."
If the bill passes, a National
Anti-Pornography Agency will be set up with
authority to fine or arrest those considered to be
acting "indecently" or violating the country's
"moral code". The legislation is also expected to
include heavy jail sentences for those branded
"pornographers".
Currently, there are no
legal obstacles to Playboy's publication. However,
the first edition will now be delayed until "both
partners are satisfied the product addresses the
sensitivities of the marketplace", said David
Walker, Playboy international vice president and
editorial director.
Even before the new
legislation is on the books, police have been
busy. Over three days police in the capital and
surrounding urban areas confiscated mountains of
erotic tabloids, along with pornographic video
discs. At least 100 people were taken in for
questioning.
Not all things to all
men The magazine may publish without the
trademark nude pictures, but then there are
questions about who will buy it. Ironically,
Indonesian model Tiara Lestari, dubbed Southeast
Asia's Naomi Campbell, posed nude as Playboy's
cover girl for the Spanish edition in August.
Awianto Nugroho, a promotions officer at
PT Velvet Silver Media, which is to publish the
magazine, maintains the magazine will steer clear
of contents unacceptable to prevailing Indonesian
norms. The monthly, he said, would not only focus
on women, but try to educate readers.
There will be pictures but they will not
contain nudity, PT Velvet publishing director
Ponti Carolus Pandean said. "We are not a porn
magazine and we will not be featuring too many
pictures." Other pledges include a promise to
respect local values and to limit distribution to
avoid sale to minors.
"One thing for sure,
we do not want to go to jail after investing so
much money," Ponti said after sounding out members
of Indonesia's Press Council.
But the
Press Council is not supportive. "This could
disturb the fabric of society," council deputy
chairman R H Siregar said.
Press Council
chairman Ichlasul Amal was more pragmatic. The
increasing popularity of entertainment magazines
in Indonesia has attracted the interest of
businessmen who may not necessarily be interested
in national education and morality, he said.
"Capitalism plays the key role."
Nugroho,
who was well aware of the likely sensitivities in
his country before his company shelled out
thousands of dollars for the franchise fee, will
have to compete with the likes of the local
franchise of British men's magazine FHM as well as
Maxim, Sexy, Marta and Popular.
Mountains
of free publicity from the non-stop controversy
should ensure big sales initially. But, as Kalla
points out, if the local version differs from the
US Playboy by replacing photos of naked women with
articles on lifestyle, political and economic
issues, buyers will "feel cheated".
Been there, done this, seen
that If the anti-pornography bill is
passed, prison sentences await those who act
indecently or in a "sexually arousing" manner.
Even kissing will be banned in public. Other sins
will include going around scantily dressed, and
even dangdut artist Inul Daratista's
gyrations will be suspect. Dangdut, a genre
of Indonesia pop music, has addicted the working
classes and the poor. Inul offended sensitivities
in Indonesia when in 2002, shoehorned into
tight-fitting body suits and bumping and grinding,
she aroused the passions of thousands of admirers,
mostly young males (see Indonesia 'all shook up' over
singer, May 10, 2003).
Inul told Time
in a recent interview: "They [MUI] should realize
that Indonesia is not a Muslim country, it's a
democratic country. Why should they care about me
when there are pornographic VCDs [video compact
discs] and prostitutes in the street? They choose
me because I am an easy target."
But they
do care. Yudhoyono even warned last year, "Living
together out of wedlock is still viewed as a
disgraceful deed that goes against the norms of
religions and laws."
But Ande Armando,
commissioner of the Indonesian Broadcasting
Commission (KPI), while concerned that "this new
[medium] will plunge our nation further into a
moral crisis because it will make women's private
parts easily displayed to the public, including to
under-age children", still believes a ban would be
a somewhat unfair.
"If Playboy is being
banned in Indonesia, the logic will be the other
male magazines like FHM, also Popular and Matra
and other domestic male magazines, should also be
banned," he said.
The new legislation is
expected to determine what publications will and
will not be allowed in the country. The knee-jerk
reactions will eventually subside, and on balance
there is every likelihood the magazine will
eventually be launched in a watered-down version,
with its distribution strictly controlled to guard
against sales to minors.
Bill
Guerin, a Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times
Online since 2000, has been in Indonesia for 20
years, mostly in journalism and editorial
positions. He has been published by the BBC on
East Timor and specializes in business/economic
and political analysis related to Indonesia. He
can be reached atsoftsell@prima.net.id.
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