Public morality bill awaits govt approval

JAKARTA: The House of Representatives responded on Monday to a suggestion by the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) secretary- general, Din Syamsuddin, that the national legislature was slow to act in tackling what he claimed was an increasing tendency toward indecency in the country.

Lawmaker Aisyah Baidlowi said the House had completed drafting its public morality bill in May and had submitted it to the government. The government, however, had yet to assign a minister to discuss the bill with the House.

The bill bans, among other things, kissing in public places, something that is considered by rights activists as a private matter and outside the purview of the government.

The director of the Ministry of Religious Affairs' legislation unit, Nandi Aziz, said the bill was currently being studied by the State Secretariat. -- Antara