The great navel battle in the war of righteousness

The great navel battle in the war of righteousness

Patrick Guntensperger, Jakarta

Last week a minor controversy erupted when President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono deplored the depravity of television and cited
by way of example the flagrant exposure of female navels.

Of course, the usual reactions were immediately dusted off and
deployed. Many traditional costumes in Indonesia fail to cover
the offensive region of the female body, and are perfectly moral
and respectable, cry some pundits with an anthropological bent.

To see immorality in the female navel is to treat her as a
sexual object, object some feminists. To expose her navel is to
treat her as a sexual object, pipe up the rest of those who claim
to speak for women. What about the rampant depictions of
violence, surely that is more eroding on the moral fabric of the
audience, contribute those with different priorities.

Once again, we were treated to the same old arguments about
television's poor quality, low morals, lack of creativity and
pervasive influence. It all came with the yawn inducing feeling
that a re-run brings on.

On a more serious level, journalists have raised their
antennae to a possible threat to freedom of expression. That type
of comment all too often presages a movement in the direction of
more governmental control over published or broadcast material
and increasing pressures on press freedom. In Indonesia, at this
time, it is wise that those antennae be very finely tuned.

There has been much discussion in the press, on the streets
and in courtrooms recently about the limits of government
authority over published and broadcast material. We have also
recently seen the first direct democratic election of an
Indonesian President. The issue of freedom of expression is both
highly sensitive and highly charged.

Susilo is still new at the game of national leadership. He is
a man not unused to authority and power, but his recent mandate
has put him at a whole new level. Every word he utters publicly
becomes a matter of record and will unquestionably come back to
haunt him if it wasn't wisely chosen. A casual remark carries
enormous weight when you are the leader of one of the world's
largest countries.

For that reason, the President would do well to consider
carefully what he says in relation to the subject of censorship.
The can of worms that was opened as the result of his comments is
evidence of how attuned people are to suspected assaults on their
freedoms. Susilo will learn that any casual remark he makes can
be interpreted as a policy statement.

The Palace and the halls of government bureaucracy are
populated with those who would immediately take measures to see
that the President's personal tastes are enforced, legally or
extra-legally, out of respect for his position or as an attempt
to ingratiate themselves.

In a mature democracy, both the national leader and the people
would be clear about the fact that the leader may express a
personal opinion that has nothing whatever to do with the manner
in which his government manages the country. A president might
deplore the sight of the female navel, but nonetheless would
fight to protect the freedom of the people to see one and artists
to show one.

The people would be confident in their leader's commitment to
democracy to the extent that they would find his personal tastes
mildly interesting but not terribly relevant to any government
action on the subject. That however, is not yet the case in
Indonesia.

Until very recently, the leader's wish was literally a
command. The country was run according to the desires and even
whims of the one in the seat of power. The habit of deference to
absolute power is one that dies hard, and it still lives in
Indonesia.

While Susilo has every right to have an opinion on any matter
whatsoever, his personal opinion is nothing more than that. We
have the right to expect that if he sees something in the press
or on television, he will tolerate it, even if he doesn't like
it. We have the right to assume that, like the rest of us, his
television came with a remote control, which he can use to change
channels if he sees a belly button, just as normal people do when
they come across a talent search show.

However, until Indonesia has become comfortable and content
with the idea of democracy, it would be wise if the President
thought carefully before making remarks that can only have a
chilling effect on the country. Susilo's comments made true
democrats nervous, offered support to hard-line moralists and
intimidated many moderates. They raised for many people the
spectre of censorship, just at a time when visions of freedom
were dancing in their heads.

But since Susilo has already demonstrated that he has a clear
perception of the truly pressing problems this country faces, we
have to conclude that he's not about to get bogged down in a
Quixotic and pointless war on the titillating. Such a campaign
would be doomed to failure, would be utterly divisive and would
dissipate energy and resources better employed dealing with
genuine threats to the people of this country. Indonesia's
endemic corruption comes irresistibly to mind, both as a priority
more suited to a man of his talents and as an authentic threat to
the people.

The writer, social and political commentator, can be reached
at ttpguntensperger@hotmail.com