Tom Pepinsky

Author: tompepinsky

  • Papuan Election, Pornography

    The elections in the provinces of Papua and Irjabar seem to have gone well, with no allegations of corruption or money politics making it to the news sources that I read.  Of course, some folks are still upset that the government decided to create the new province at all, and reject any elections as illegitimate, but they seem not to have a very strong voice.

    One thing that’s been in the news these days–and which has a direct impact on Papua–is the Indonesian government’s proposed anti-pornography bill.  The rather strong Islamic opposition party known as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS, Partai Keadilan Sejahtera) is a big sponsor of this bill.  We should note that while PKS is an Islamic party, it is not an Islamist party–it has no plans to adopt sharia law or anything like that, it just counts on pious Muslims for its support.  Its biggest campaign promises are always to cut down on corruption and to emphasize morality in governance, similar to Hamas in Palestine but without the commitment to annihilate Israel.  Of course, many Christians in Indonesia fear that PKS would try to introduce sharia if it ever held the presidency and a majority in the legislature, but my own view is that is a losing proposition.

    The pornography bill, anyway, is supposed to regulate the spread of immorality in culture and the media.  It tries to define pornografi (pornographic images) and pornoaksi (pornographic actions) as two separate things that it will fight against.  The gist of the opposition is that most people are satisfied with existing anti-pornography regulations, and religious and cultural minorities feel that the bill may infringe on traditional cultures.  For example, will Balinese people still be allowed to bathe in rivers?  Will Papuans be allowed to wear their traditional dress (link not safe for work)?  Will traditional religious ceremonies with sexual undertones be outlawed?  Many protestors point out that the proposed bill makes no provisions to protect these minorities.  Another group of protestors believe that the anti-pornography and pornoaksi bill will repress women’s rights–one Catholic Indonesian friend referred to it as the "Arabization of Indonesia."  The proposed bill, in its first draft, made it a crime punishable by fines for Indonesian women to wear clothes that reveal legs, midriffs, and shoulders.  It’s not clear what the new version of the bill includes.

    Here’s a quote from Din Syamsuddin, a proponent of the bill: "We are concerned by the moral
    liberalization that will lead the nation to the brink of collapse,
    unless it is stopped as soon as possible."      Seems a bit of a stretch to consider that Indonesia could fall apart because of nudity in the arts and bare midriffs.  Watch this space for updates as negotiations about the bill continue.

  • Traipsing throughout Jakarta

    James and I had a nice time the other night.  We first stopped by a great Chinese seafood restaurant that our friends really enjoy, and had all sorts of steamed fish and wok-fried vegetables and tasty tofu and the like.  Our friends are observant Catholics and decided to lay off the chicken that we ordered, but that just meant more for us.  James was funny, though.  He has spent a bunch of time travelling throughout China, from Kashgar to Harbin to Guangzhou, so he’s familiar with Chinese food.  He claimed that the food was delicious and very authentic, but he was simply amazed that there was absolutely no pork or ham available.  I told him that this is normal in Indonesia, where almost every restaurant is halal so that it can attract business.  There’s a similar phenomenon on NYC and Philadelphia of kosher Chinese restaurants, but in Indonesia you’d have to really search to find a non-halal restaurant.  JM and I, on our travels throughout Java and frequent attendance of nice restaurants, never saw pork.  The only exception was Bali, but that makes sense because it’s a Hindu island.

    After dinner at that restaurant, we headed to a fancy Belgian-run restaurant for dessert.  It was also quite good, although the clientele was entirely ethnic Chinese and Western.  I had a chocolate tart with basil ice cream, which was surprisingly delicious.  Yes, you read that right, basil.

    We capped off the night with a drink in a bar in the leafy, prosperous neighborhood of Menteng, which is where the Freedom Institute is.  This place was excellent as well.  I had a drink that essentially boiled down to a Mint Julep accented with crushed watermelon and lime juice.  Very tasty.  This restaurant, named Loro Jonggrang for character on display at the Hindu temple of Prambanan in Central Java, featured cultural artifacts from throughout Java and Bali.  It was nice enough that we asked and received a tour, checking out very nice pictures and carvings.  The place even included a Sukarno room, a tribute to Indonesia’s first President.

    My project for the next week is to get as much new Indonesian music as possible.  One of our friends is really tapped into the Indonesian arts community, enough that she knows all the new jazz/fusion groups such as Krakatau (whom JM and I have seen live) and played a traditional flute with a jazz group at the recent Java Jazz Festival.  I’ve asked for her recommendations for the best modern Indonesian pop, rock, and jazz.  JM and I are only really familiar with Peterpan and Sheila on 7.  Other bands we’ve heard are good include Slank, Dewa, and Iwan Fals.  I’ll keep you posted with the results of my search.