Pornography to be allowed for medication, education
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives paved the way on Wednesday for the deliberation of a bill on pornography that would contain maximum penalties of seven years in jail and fines of Rp 3 billion (US$350,000) for the distribution of pornographic materials.
The bill would ban the creation, dissemination and use of pornography in printed and electronic media.
It would also contain penalties for anyone who intentionally became a model or object of pornography.
The bill, however, allows the dissemination and use of pornography for educational or scientific purposes.
The use of pornographic materials would also be allowed for medical purposes, with the necessary licenses.
The bill does not, however, clearly define what constitutes pornography. It simply says that pornography is designed to create sexual urges by exploiting sex, indecency or eroticism.
The spokespersons for all of the House's factions said a bill on pornography was needed to create a moral and ethical society.
"The bill will be further deliberated by legislators and the government," said House Deputy Speaker Muhaimin Iskandar.
Erwin Pardede of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) said pornography led to an increase in the number of cases of adultery and rape, as well as prostitution.
He said, however, that the bill on pornography should not harm freedom of expression.
Rustam E. Tamburaka of Golkar said it was necessary to stamp out pornography in order to preserve social order.
He said all citizens had a duty to eradicate pornography, as well as the responsibility to report to the authorities anyone buying or selling pornography.
Rustam suggested the government coordinate with other countries to curb the distribution of pornography, adding that the existing regulations on pornography were too lenient.
Article 282 of the Criminal Code, for example, says that the creation and dissemination of pornographic materials is punishable by one year and four months in prison or a fine of Rp 45,000 (US$5).
He urged his fellow legislators to endorse the new bill as quickly as possible.
The bill on pornography also calls for the establishment of a National Anti-Pornography Body, which would open branch offices in the regions.
The body would provide the government with recommendations on how to eradicate pornography.
Key Articles of the Bill on Pornography ----------------------------------------------------------- -- Article 1 (1): Pornography is something that is designed to create sexual urges by exploiting sex, decency or eroticism. -- Article 1 (7): Pornographic materials can be books, newspapers, magazines, tabloids, printed materials, film, video, video compact discs, digital video discs, compact discs, personal computers, CD Read Only Memory and cassettes. -- Article 9: The use of pornographic material is allowed for medical purposes. -- Article 29: Anyone intentionally creating, disseminating or using pornographic materials can be punished by a maximum penalty of five years in jail or a Rp 1 billion fine. ------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Bill on Pornography