Break the mirror when your face is ugly<\/p>\n
By R. Masri Sareb Putra<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government recently slapped a ban on a book
\nby Soebadio Sastrosatomo, Politik Dosomuko Rezim Order Baru:
\nRapuh dan Sengsarakan Rakyat (The New Order Regime's Dosomuko
\nPolitics: Fragile and Making People Suffer).<\/p>\n
Soebadio said that the culprit of these crises is the New
\nOrder's political system itself, one that he names \"Dosomuko
\npolitics\" (10-faced politics).<\/p>\n
He writes that these 10 faces are: the people's sovereignty
\nhas been expropriated; Pancasila has been made a shield to
\nprotect power; the law has been subjugated; political parties and
\nlabor unions have been stunted; the legislature has been
\ncastrated; the media has been rendered barren; the economy is
\ncharacterized by nepotism, monopoly, corruption and collusion;
\neducation has been tamed; culture has been uniformed; and, the
\nvalues of humanity have been trampled.<\/p>\n
Dosomuko is the other name of Rahwana, the devilish king of
\nAlengka Kingdom in the classical Ramayana epic.<\/p>\n
According to the government, the 23-page book was banned
\nbecause it is provocative and pejorative toward the New Order.<\/p>\n
This is not the only book by Soebadio which has been banned.
\nLast year, his Era Baru Pemimpin Baru: Badio Menolak Rezim Order
\nBaru (New Era New Leader: Badio Rejects the New Order Regime) was
\nbanned.<\/p>\n
In the past five years only three types of books have been
\nbanned.<\/p>\n
The first type were banned because the government believed
\nthey contained pornography, such as Madame D. Syuga by Fuji
\nHideki. This book, which contains a few erotic pictures of Dewi
\nSukarno, one of former president Sukarno's wives, was banned in
\n1993.<\/p>\n
To the second type belong books considered potentially
\ndisruptive to religious harmony, such as Dosa dan Penebusan
\nMenurut Islam dan Kristen (Sins and Redemption according to Islam
\nad Christianity).<\/p>\n
The third type includes political books that, in the opinion
\nof the government, may create instability and may undermine the
\nauthority of the legitimate government.<\/p>\n
The government believes the books have certain political
\ncontent which may inspire and incite people to go against the
\ngovernment. Therefore, they are not to be read by the public.<\/p>\n
However, from an academic point of view, these books may be of
\ngreat use, especially regarding their contribution as references
\nto political studies and research.<\/p>\n
A case in point is Karl Marx's book Das Kapital. It is banned
\nin Indonesia although, in fact, it is very useful and a must-read
\nfor economists and economic observers. Politicians should read,
\nfor example, Il Principe by Machiavelli, or Mein Kampf by Adolf
\nHitler. Without reading these, one cannot legitimately say that
\none is an economist or a politician. Both books were also banned
\nhere.<\/p>\n
Law<\/p>\n
The government has its own strong reason for banning such
\nbooks. Law No. 4\/PNPS\/1963 on safeguarding against printed matter
\nwhich may disrupt public order, does not provide for any
\nexemption. When a book is banned, then it may not be read,
\nphotocopied and distributed by anybody for whatever reason.<\/p>\n
It seems that the government has resorted to the security
\napproach in this case. This is a pity because at present, as the
\nworld becomes more transparent and borderless, it is next to
\nimpossible to withdraw all printed works already distributed.<\/p>\n
Besides, it is not likely to find out who has purchased or
\nowns banned books. Experience shows that banning a book only
\nmakes people more eager to read it.<\/p>\n
The authorities, in this case a team of examiners attached to
\nthe Subdirectorate of Mass Media Safeguarding, Directorate of
\nPolitical Affairs of the Attorney General's Office, will
\ncertainly be burdened with a big job of collecting and then
\nexamining books belonging to the category of \"threatening
\nnational stability, damaging the nation's morality and
\ndiscrediting the government\".<\/p>\n
There must be differences of opinions between the author and
\nthe Attorney General's Office about the content of a particular
\nbook. A book called Adik Baru, Cara Menjelaskan Seks Kepada Anak
\n(New Sibling, a Method to Explain Sex to Children), translated by
\nSwanie Gunawan and edited by education expert Conny Semiawan, is
\nconsidered by the translator as one which is very important to
\nparents in explaining sex problems to children.<\/p>\n
However, the Attorney General's Office, considering this to be
\na porn book, banned it in 1989.<\/p>\n
The question is: What has really made a book be withdrawn from
\ncirculation and banned by the government?<\/p>\n
Certain criteria in this respect has been set by the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office with its clearinghouse team, which comprises
\nrepresentatives from the National Intelligence Coordination
\nAgency, the Armed Forces Intelligence Agency, the Police, the
\nMinistry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Religious
\nAffairs and the Ministry of Information.<\/p>\n
When withdrawing a book from circulation, the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office always uses Article 27 of the Prosecution Law,
\nwhich, among other things, stipulates: \"In public order and
\npeace, the prosecutor's office shall also safeguard the
\ncirculation of printed matter.\"<\/p>\n
So the term \"disrupting public order\" has become the
\ngovernment's effective weapon to bring to court an author on the
\ngrounds that he has violated the prevailing law and norms. If a
\nbook contains elements which can be linked to \"fomenting hatred
\nand slander\", then the book must be banned and the author must
\naccount for what he has written.<\/p>\n
Likewise, pursuant to Decree MPRS No. XXV\/MPRS\/1966, books
\ncontaining and disseminating Marxism and Leninism cannot be
\npublished and distributed in Indonesia, not even for scientific
\nstudies. This decree has not been revoked, although communism has
\nbroken into pieces with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the
\ncradle of Leninism and communism.<\/p>\n
Until now, most of those on the list of banned books are
\npolitical in content.<\/p>\n
These include Menuntut Janji Orde Baru (Demanding the New
\nOrder's Promises, 1987), Siapa yang Sesungguhnya Melakukan Kudeta
\nterhadap Pemerintah Presiden Soekarno (Who Really Made the Coup
\nD'etat Against President Soekarno, 1987), Regulasi Rejim
\nBirokratik Militer: Kasus di Indonesia (Regulation of Military
\nBureaucratic Regime: The Case in Indonesia, 1988), Bertarung Demi
\nDemokrasi (Fighting For The Sake of Democracy, 1990), Primadosa
\n(Prime Sins, 1983), Memoar Oei Tjoe Tat (Oei Tjoe Tat's Memoirs,
\n1995), Bayang-bayang PKI (The Shadow of Indonesian Communist
\nParty, 1996) dan Era Baru Pemimpin Baru (New Era of New Leader,
\n1997).<\/p>\n
Between 1987 and 1997, over 70 books and other printed works
\nwere banned by the government.<\/p>\n
Of course, this ban is effective only from the government's
\npoint of view and its own interest. Authors and broad segments of
\nthe community may think otherwise.<\/p>\n
The phrase buruk muka cermin dibelah (break the mirror when
\nyour face is ugly) could be applied in this case.<\/p>\n
In other words, the rulers reading those books see their own
\nugly faces and then blame the mirror for reflecting them. They do
\nnot admit that it is their own faces. The mirror must be wrong.
\nAnd the mirror is broken into pieces.<\/p>",
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