VIVAnews - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has signed the Law on Pornography. The President has looked through the contents of the controversial law and decided to sign and ratify it.
Presidential Spokesperson Andi Mallarangeng said on Tuesday, 9 December, that the President signed and ratified the Law within 30 days after the House of Representatives (DPR) approved the law that has been rejected by several regions.
"What is certain is that the Law has been discussed with several factions in DPR. Starting from its articles, regarding traditions. It's (also) certain that everything that the president signed has been checked thoroughly," said Andi.
The Law on Pornography has sparked controversy in Indonesia since it became apparent this year that the DPR was about to decide whether or not to approve the bill.
Before the bill was approved by the House of Representatives (DPR), a public hearing of the bill was held in mid-October, but rejected by three provinces: North Sulawesi, Bali and Yogyakarta. In North Sulawesi, the public hearing was seriously voted down; members of working committee performed a walkout and the public hearing was canceled. In Bali, the public hearing was disrupted. In Yogyakarta, most of the participants left the public hearing.
The Draft Bill on Pornography, was finally approved by DPR on 30 October 2008 by a note of objection from DPR member of Bali Ni Nyoman Karna.
Since 2006, Bali has rejected the drafting of the Bill on Pornography. Governor of Bali, I Made Mangku Pastika, said, during an interview with VIVAnews in early November, “We in Bali still refuse the Law (on Pornography) and are unable to implement the Law because it is not in accordance with the philosophic values of and the sociological conditions in Bali.”
Queen of Yogyakarta Sultanate Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Hemas also disapproved of the law. In fact, she once demonstrated against it along with the Balinese.
Head of Education and Research and Development Subcommission at Women's National Commission, Neng Dara Affiah, said in mid-October that Draft Bill on Pornography is no longer relevant today. The draft bill, said Neng, was initiated in 2002 as several religious groups were alarmed by press freedom. At that time, gossip media was rampant. However, the phenomenon has disappeared. "So, what is the relevance? After I did some observation, the draft bill do not educate people to think logically and systematically," said Neng.
Aside from Tisnawati, as a representative of Bali, two political factions also performed a walkout during the DPR meeting at the end of October: Indonesian Democratic Party Faction and Peace and Prosperous Party Faction.
Meanwhile, member of Special Committee of Law on Pornography Azlaini Agus acknowledged that he did not comprehend the reasons that several provinces conveyed their wish to disintegrate from Indonesia should the Draft Bill be legalized. According to him, the refusal must be caused by lack of information. In fact, said Azlaini, DPR has carried out numerous socialization and public test, of which Bali was the final place.
According to Minister of Religious Affairs Maftuh Basyuni, people are longing for Law on Pornography because porn materials are circulated in the media and endanger children. So far there has been absence or lack of law and regulation on the issue.
Basyuni also stated that Draft Bill on Pornography has paid attention to the priciple of 'unity in diversity,' including tradition. The Law offers legal and social protection, and he referred to it as a non-discriminative law. The Law does not discriminate between ethnics, religious beliefs and race.
State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta had said that the said law does not limit women’s rights. In late October, she said that the law protects the country and the national diginity from negative impacts of pornography. “That’s where the focus is now. Whereas before, [the previous version of] the draft bill controls people, from the way they dress to the way they act,” she said.
But that previous version has been revised by DPR and suggestions by both the government and the public has been accommodated by DPR. “So please look at it from the perspective of protecting the entire nation,” she said.
Meanwhile, Andi Mallarangeng, the President’s spokesperson, refused to comment whether or not Yudhoyono will lose popularity in the regions that rejected the Law.
VIVAnews writers Arfi Bambani Amri, Muhammad Hasits, Amril Amarullah, Wima Saraswati, YW Nugroho and Anggi Kusumadewi contributed to this article.
