I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar – The room fell into an uneasy silence as Satria Naradha, one of the most influential community figures in Bali, made a point to the visiting members of the House of Representative's special committee on the pornography bill.
"Bali will never betray Indonesia, we will never secede. Instead, we shall fight until the end any group that is trying to subvert the nation into a monolithic society based on the teachings of one single religious belief," he stressed.
"If Jakarta and Aceh want to betray the republic (by suppressing religious freedom and multiculturalism) then we will let them go (from the republic). Bali will not go away, we will fight to keep this nation as a nation that respects religious freedom and celebrates multiculturalism," he said.
Satria's remarks were obviously aimed at the pornography bill, a controversial document the visiting legislators tried in vain to sell to the Balinese.
The visiting legislators were obviously a bit shocked by the statement. So far, Satria's remarks were the most pointed political position they had heard during their three-day visit to Bali in early March.
The fact that the remarks were made by a man who owns the influential Bali Post and Bali TV made them politically impossible to ignore.
Born into a family of heroes – his mother was a veteran of the War of Independence and his father was one of the country's first newspaper publishers – - Satria has become the living embodiment of the contemporary Balinese's struggle to win the modern world without losing their traditional cultural and religious identity.
A main proponent of the Ajeg Bali, a cultural and economic movement aimed at creating a Balinese-style renaissance, Satria's influence extends beyond the modern wall of Denpasar. He commands deep respect in the island's rural areas and numerous Balinese communities outside Bali.
His remarks also reflect the substantial paradigm shift that has taken place recently among various opponents to the bill on the island.
"Previously, many of us viewed the bill as a threat to our interests, either to our tourist industry or cultural freedom. Nowadays, the majority of us see the bill as a grave threat to the interests of our nation," a scholar, Ketut Sumarta, said.
Opponents believe the bill's rigid and gender-insensitive interpretation on pornography and its ignorance of the nation's colorful cultural and religious heritage would inflict irreversible damage on the fragile uniting fabric of the nation.
"Indonesia is a nation in waiting. We spent decades to nurture the spirit of nationhood among hundreds of the country's ethnic and cultural groups. The bill will damage that spirit and send this nation to the edge of disintegration," Sumarta warned.
Separately, the chairman of the main movement opposed to the bill, Komponen Rakyat Bali, I Gusti Ngurah Harta, reminded that the unitary state of Indonesia was founded on the noble principles of Pancasila and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity), which reflected the founding fathers' utmost respect for the nation's diverse sociocultural landscape.
"The bill, on the other hand, reflects and promotes the moral and cultural values of only one group of religious beliefs," he said.
The paradigm shift has convinced the Balinese that the struggle against the bill is no longer a selfish effort to save the island's tourist industry or cultural heritage, but an altruistic endeavor to save the Republic of Indonesia.
"The struggle has been taken to another level, a nobler one," Sumarta said. "We will intensify our contacts with other regions in Indonesia, such as Papua and Yogya, to form a nationalistic coalition to fight the bill," Ngurah Harta added.
Satria Naradha views this as a patriotic struggle. "My ancestors sacrificed their lives to build this republic. I and my fellow Balinese will not let this sacred heritage be ruined by a small group of people who want to impose their moral values on this nation," he said.
At the end of the meeting, Satria once again shocked the legislators by presenting them with unique gifts – red-and-white flags of the Republic of Indonesia; a symbolic gesture. "May these flags always remind you of what this republic really stands for," he said.