Government vows to come down hard on pornography
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After hearing a report about group masturbation among elementary school students, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the government would soon take extreme steps to stamp out pornography.
"It (pornography) has reached intolerable levels. Do everything in your power to stamp out this problem," the President was quoted as saying by State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs Adhyaksa Dault after a meeting at the Presidential Office on Monday.
Adhyaksa and State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta met with the President to report on plans by their two offices to sign a memorandum of understanding on the eradication of pornography next month.
They said they were also seeking a commitment from Susilo to fight pornography, which they said was damaging the morals of the nation.
Several months ago, Susilo complained about bare navels being shown on television. However, his complaint met with more ridicule than outrage.
During the meeting, Adhyaksa told the President about a group of elementary school students found masturbating together.
The minister put the blame on pirated hard-core pornographic VCDs, which are cheap and readily found in most markets.
"After hearing the report, President Yudhoyono looked unhappy. He said that while physical damage could be repaired over time, moral damage could cause the loss of a generation," Meutia said.
The President said on Thursday the country's moral crisis was one of the main impediments to rooting out corruption.
Adhyaksa said the offices of the two state ministers would set up a joint team to deal with pornography.
"This problem must be comprehensively dealt with," the minister said.
This means the police and other institutions such as the Ministry of Communications and Information will be represented on the joint team.
Adhyaksa said the police had the authority to conduct operations against the producers, distributors, sellers and purchasers of pornographic VCDs. Both Adhyaksa and Meutia agreed the Ministry of Communications and Information should be represented on the team because pornography involves both the print and electronic media.
Separately, Muslimat Nahdlatul Ulama, the women's wing of the country's largest Islamic organization, welcomed the President's stance against pornography, but said pornography had nothing to do with moral or social issues, Antara reported.
"We are pleased with President Yudhoyono's stance. However, it (pornography) is not moral or social problem ... it is about capitalism and the entertainment industry," said Khofifah Indar Parawansa, the chairwoman of Muslimat and a former state minister for women's empowerment.
The government has been working on a controversial "anti- pornography" bill since last year. The bill has been criticized as repressive and meddling in private affairs.