Fadli, Batam – Entertainment and tourism businesspeople in Batam expressed their concerns Monday over the controversial pornography bill following a meeting with a House special committee, but received little assurance their worries would be addressed.
At the meeting with the committee from the House of Representatives on Saturday, the businesspeople raised fears the bill, if passed into law, would have a negative impact on the island's tourism and entertainment sectors, as well as restrict people's freedom of expression.
Deputy head of investment and promotion at the Batam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Jadi Rajagukguk, told The Jakarta Post the bill was rejected by representatives of the tourism and entertainment industries who attended the meeting.
"The draft bill is like the seed of a disease, and will make foreign tourists afraid to come to Indonesia," Jadi said.
Other associations which, alongside Kadin, opposed the bill, were the Association of Barelang Entertainment Services, the Association of Cultural Discussion, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association and Batam's Travel Tour Association.
Jadi said that even before the bill had been passed into law, Barelang Police had started warning shops against selling revealing clothing and women not to wear such clothing in public, causing concern among the community.
"We heard that one shop opted to close after being warned by the police, and there are many shoppers at the malls who fear that the way they dress might cause the police to target them."
He expressed surprise at comments by members of the House special committee, who reportedly said they had not proposed the bill and did not necessarily agree with it, but were only doing their job in moving it through the House. "They told us at the meeting we should blame previous legislators since they drafted the bill," Jadi said.
Batam is experiencing a decline in tourist numbers. In 2004, the island city hosted over 1.5 million visitors, but in 2005 that number fell to just over 900,000. "I don't know what sort of numbers we will get next year, especially if we have this new law saying that dressing sexy is a no-no in Indonesia," Jadi said.
Chairman of the Indonesian Tourist Guides Association, Edy Surbakti, is also concerned the bill will have a negative impact on the number of tourists coming to enjoy the tropical climate.
"For tourists from Korea, China and European countries, tanned skin is a symbol of pride, showing they have been sunbathing in a tropical country," said Edy, who also questioned how the government planned to familiarize tourists with the bill.
Anas, a member of the Social Association of Indonesian-Chinese in Batam, said his group was against the bill as it failed to provide details on what sorts of clothing and which parts of the body were regarded as "pornographic" and unsuitable for public display.
"Some Chinese people in Batam wear sleeveless clothes and miniskirts, are these considered wrong? We're worried about this," Anas said.
It is also feared that the bill will restrict artists from expressing themselves, according to Samson Rambah Pasir, chairman of the Batam Art Council.
"Several dances from the Riau Islands seem like erotic performances, like the Joggi dance, which accentuates the woman's body, but it's not nudity. We're worried the bill will make people afraid to be creative," Samson said.
The bill, however, received support from the chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council in Batam, Asyari Abbas, who said the bill was written after receiving advice from representatives of all the country's religions.
"The concerns of businesses and artists are overblown. Let's wait and see the benefits of the law for young people in Batam. We need to protect them from the everyday images of pornography and sex," he said.