Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Balkan Kaplale, the head of the deliberation of the controversial pornography bill, has been accused of misleading the public.

Legislators critical of the bill said Saturday Balkan misled the public when he announced last week that all members of the team deliberating the bill had agreed to drop its controversial elements.

Several legislators are seeking to have Balkan, a legislator from the Democrat Party, which was co-founded by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, removed from the chairmanship.

Balkan said last week that the deliberation team had agreed to scrap all contentious issues from the bill and that the future law would deal only with the distribution of pornographic material.

Legislator Eva K. Sundari of the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle and a member of the deliberation team, said that her party has been lobbying other legislators for the dismissal of Balkan. "He has mislead the public. There is no such thing as agreement among legislators to overhaul the bill," she said Saturday.

Balkan announced that the vague definition of pornography in the bill would be revised, and so would key issues like eroticism and sensuality, which have met with strong objections from critics. Clauses on pornoaksi (pornographic acts) would be dropped, he said.

Balkan made the statement after the deliberation team secretly convened for three days at the holiday resort of Puncak, 60 km south of Jakarta, following weeks of massive protests both for and against the bill. However, Eva said, legislators finalizing the bill only made a few changes to the bill's title and structure. Legislator Boy Saul of the Democrat Party said that Balkan's view did not reflect that of his party.

"We are yet take a stand but, yes, we have heard about legislators critical of his leadership," he said.

When contacted by phone, Balkan refused to comment on the moves to remove him from the chairmanship, saying "I will carry on with my job without fear." The bill criminalizes acts many regard as part of the private domain, such as kissing in public and the display of nude art in public exhibitions. Critics warn that the bill threatens indigenous cultures and tourism and claim it is part of a plan to ingrain Islamic values in pluralistic Indonesia.

The bill remains a burning issue throughout the country. In Lombok on Saturday, thousands of Muslims took to the streets in the capital, Mataram, demanding the bill's speedy passage. Earlier last week, an estimated 300 activists opposing the bill, mostly women, demonstrated outside the local Legislative Council.

Saturday's protest, organized by the Alliance for Islam, was attended by students, members of political parties and social groups from across the province.

In the Central Java town of Brebes, leaders of the 40-million-strong Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama also demonstrated in support of the bill.

"There must be a good way to deal with some disputed articles without canceling the deliberation of the bill," said NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi.

The House, he said, should not hesitate to pass the bill for the "betterment of the nation's morality." "It doesn't take an extremist to understand the negative effects of pornography," Hasyim said.

Religious Minister M. Maftuh Basyuni said that he found it "a bit strange" that the issue of the porn bill "has been diverted to that of women's rights".