Jakarta – The House of Representatives should drop its deliberations of the controversial pornography bill because it is dividing the country, says a coalition of activists against the legislation.

Alliance for Unity and Diversity coordinator Ratna Sarumpaet said the bill was unnecessary because existing laws already regulated the sale of pornographic materials to the public.

"We have spoken to legislators but they have insisted on the importance of the bill," Ratna said during a meeting with Constitutional Court chief Jimly Asshiddiqie.

The bill, supported by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), has triggered nationwide protests from moderate Muslim groups, religious minorities and women's activists, and demonstrations of support from conservative Muslims.

The alliance was established in March to oppose the bill. On Monday, it said it was dissatisfied with the House's decision to continue deliberating the bill after making some changes to the legislation.

Jimly said the Constitutional Court had no authority to force the House to drop the legislation. However, he asked legislators to carefully consider the critics of the bill and its effect on the freedom to worship guaranteed by the Constitution.

"Lawmakers should take heed of the views of minority groups here, because a decision by the majority is not always the right one," he said. The court would move legally against the bill if there was evidence it could infringe on people's constitutional rights, he said.

Ratna said the alliance was planning to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to express its concerns about the bill. She said she had received many threatening text messages on her cellphone after joining a major rally to oppose the legislation.

The alliance also criticized the government for failing to take decisive action against hard-line Muslim groups, which have attacked churches and minority Islamic sects in the name of religion.

It said public resentment was growing against groups like the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), whose members had forced former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid to leave the podium at an interfaith forum in Purwakarta, West Java. Gus Dur opposes the pornography bill.

The leader of Jakarta group the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR), Fadloli El Muhir, was reported to police last month for allegedly defaming women activists who took part in a street protest against the bill.