Govt responds to critics of waning film censorship

JAKARTA (JP): The government, fiercely criticized by Moslem groups for its lax control over pornographic scenes in films, promised yesterday to tighten its censorship mechanism, including revamping the film board.

Minister of Information Harmoko said changes had been in the pipeline for some time, especially since President Soeharto issued a decree last March to change the film censorship board into a new agency called the film censorship institute.

Harmoko said his ministry is also working on the operational execution of the ruling, including setting out clear guidelines for those involved in the development of national films.

"We are still working on it. Just wait," he told reporters at his office yesterday.

But major changes in the way the ministry controls the film industry is unlikely, according to Harmoko, who stressed that the government is bound by existing regulations designed to nurture the national film industry.

"We always use the regulations as our foundation. Concerning (the pornographic issue), we should refer to the 1992 Law on Film," the minister said.

The local film industry, already feeling the pinch of competition from foreign films, laser discs and videos, is now under pressure to clean up its products which many religious organizations say are still filled with filth.

Censorship officials have privately acknowledged that they had been lax in cutting out pornographic scenes from Indonesian films to help the local industry survive fierce competition.

Host

The ministry of information yesterday summoned representatives of the film industry to discuss ways of stimulating the moribund local film industry and make Indonesian films once again the "host in their own country".

The representatives came from Panca Tunggal Perfilman, an umbrella group of the Indonesian Film Artists Association (Parfi), the Film and Television Employees (KFT), the Association of Theater Owners (GPBSI) and the Association of Film Studios (Gasfi).

Film Censorship Board chairman Soekanto meanwhile said his agency will no longer tolerate films which exploit pornography.

"During last two months, I have given them (film producers) warnings not to make such films anymore."

He said he was inspired to combat pornographic scenes in local-made films after Harmoko himself stated that enough was enough. "Following the minister's advice, we will not hesitate to take stern censorship measures," Soekanto stated.

Soekanto said, however, that films are in some way a reflection of the condition of society, and that if people did not like the scenes portrayed in the films then the films would find no market. However, if the public goes for this type of films, producers will keep churning out more of the same.

He added that people's tastes also change constantly and film producers will soon shift to other trends. "I heard films with pornographic themes do not sell well in East Java. I hope it's a good indication for the future of Indonesian films."

Soekanto said his board, which comprises of 45 people from many different backgrounds, has tried to censor some 40 films everyday, including local films.

Soekanto said it is not fair to simply blame his board because the films must go through several levels of bureaucracy before they come to his office.

The Directorate of Film and Radio, for example, issues a preliminary license after evaluating the proposal from a film producer. "Long before the film is made, the script is submitted to the directorate, which analyses whether it should be passed or not," he said.

Soekanto noted that if the first layer of censorship does not work well, then there will be problems which follow; if the film is initially approved and then does not pass the censorship board, producers will claim that they spent large sums of money making a film that was given approval and was later arbitrarily shot down.

"If the film is about a prostitute, for instance, how could you avoid pornographic scenes? Why was this kind of film allowed in the first place?" Soekanto remarked.

He listed a number of titles which already show that the films are about sex. Among them are Ranjang Pemikat (Bed Attractor), Permainan Tabu (Forbidden Play) and Gairah Malam (Night Desire). (11)