M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – People from religious groups readying to protest the first edition of Indonesia's Playboy, which hits newsstands Friday (today), might want to read the magazine first.
The first copy of the "adult" entertainment publication carries no nudity and little that most people would judge obscene. The only danger – for the publisher – is that it may be too tame in a market already saturated with soft-porn titles.
Publisher PT Velvet Silver Media has apparently made good on its promise to display fully clothed women models and focus on more "literary" subject matters.
In the first edition, seen by The Jakarta Post on Thursday, all female models are clad in modest body-fitting outfits and pictured tastefully.
The bulk of space in the magazine is devoted to sober articles on the country's economic outlook for 2006, an interview with Indonesia's literary giant Pramoedya Ananta Toer and a feature story on Japanese carmakers' domination of the American market.
Religion also get a mention. In an apparent move to appease the indignation of religious groups, the magazine carries a story about the country's faiths, penned by Pantau magazine writer Agus Sopian.
There is also a short story from fiction writer Dewi Lestari. In total, only 18 of the magazine's 160 pages are devoted to pictures of female models.
Chief editor Erwin Arnada told the Post that Playboy's first tame outing had nothing to do with religious groups' campaigns against its publication.
"It is part of our compliance with the Press Law, which bans all obscene publications. It is also part of our agreement with our owners, the US Playboy magazine," Arnada said in an interview at a secluded location in South Jakarta.
Several religious groups have staged a series of street demonstrations since last year to protest the magazine's planned publication. Muhammadiyah leader Din Syamsuddin has vowed to muster other national religious leaders to demonstrate against the magazine when it hit newsstands.
Speculation is rife that Velvet Silver Media has cut a deal with the groups to get its product printed, which Arnada denies.
However, he does not anticipate fresh protests once the magazine is published. "We don't take that (the possibility of protests) seriously. We are just focusing on how to produce a quality magazine and get it out first," he said.
And unlike other magazines here, which generally have big launch parties, Playboy Indonesia has no plans to officially kick off the publication.
If there is any commotion about the magazine it will likely be at the newsstands. Velvet Silver Media has printed 100,000 copies of the magazine, which will sell at outlets throughout the country for Rp 39,000 each.
One of the world's best-known brands, Playboy was founded by Hugh Heffner and his associates in 1953.
The advent of competitors such as FHM and Maxim in the US prompted Playboy Enterprizes Inc to look for new markets in Asia and it took only two months for Velvet Silver Media to secure the local publishing rights.
Japan already has a local version of the magazine and India will be the third Asian country to publish it after Indonesia.