Glodok porn trade booming
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
You can't judge a package by its cover, as is the case with pornographic video compact discs (VCDs), which display photos of local artists on the cover, yet disappointingly fail to show them in the buff inside.
There are VCDs with titles such as Asmaraku (My Love) that display pop singer Krisdayanti on the cover while Fantasi Nakal (Naughty Fantasy) shows her sibling Yuni Shara.
They are among hundreds of porn VCDs that can be easily found around the vicinity of Harco Glodok electronics center in West Jakarta.
"Hard-core pornographic VCDs with covers showing Indonesian artists are the most wanted by our buyers," a street vendor, introducing himself by his family name, Harahap, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
"Many people are curious as to whether the VCDs really feature Indonesians or not," he said.
Krisdayanti did not seem bothered about the use of her photos on the cover, or so her spokesperson Selby made out.
"That issue is so passe. Krisdayanti's fans are smart enough to know that they are all fake," she said.
The VCDs with Indonesian titles usually feature foreign actors.
Vendors are offering the VCDs for between Rp 7,000 (70 U.S. cents) and Rp 11,000 ($1.1), but will accept Rp 6,000 after bargaining.
Harahap, who had been running his business for almost three years, said he could sell up to 100 pornographic VCDs a day and some 40 other VCDs.
But, that was before the latest series of raids carried out last month against VCD vendors in the area.
The area had been tense for several days after Taman Sari Police and public order officers demolished VCD vendors' stands along the road, not because they sold porn, pirated products, but because they disrupted traffic.
A number of police vans were still seen parked at the side of the road on Wednesday.
"Business at the (VCD) market is very sluggish at present as we have fewer visitors and many VCD vendors have suspended their business activities in fear of further raids. We only sold 15 pornographic VCDs yesterday," Harahap said.
Another VCD seller, Siregar, 25, hurriedly hid a pile of obscene VCDs on display as a group of military officers passed by.
Siregar said he was able to display less obscene ones openly at his stall, but all XXX-rated pornographic VCDs were concealed in separate packages.
"We cannot display such flicks openly. We only offer them to those who ask," he said.
According to him, those buying pornographic VCDs come from all walks of life.
"There are adults, both men and women, but also teenagers," he said, adding that some were still at elementary school.
A group of high school students interviewed by the Post on Jl. Salemba Raya admitted that they often watched such pornographic flicks.
"We watch them at home in groups of five or six when our parents are not at home," said Tino and his group of schoolmates.
"I borrow such VCDs from rental outlets for Rp 5,000 a disk per day. Sometimes, I buy them from street vendors at Pasar Senen (in Central Jakarta) or Jatinegara market (in East Jakarta)," said Achmad, another student.
Meanwhile, another group of students who met the Post in Manggarai, Central Jakarta, said that they watched such movies only about twice a month.
"Sometimes, we watch them more often, sometimes less," Reinaldi, one of the students, said.
The police plan to launch an operation targeting students soon as they are concerned about the increasing amount of crime committed by teenagers, in addition to their fondness for pornography.