Pornography to be allowed for medication, education
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
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-- 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.
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Source: Bill on Pornography