Jakarta: A coalition of non-governmental organizations criticized Friday the secretive deliberations of the controversial pornography bill.

The Rainbow Coalition, a alliance of art workers and rights activists led by playwright and chairwoman of the Jakarta Arts Council Ratna Sarumpaet, said there had been attempts by the House of Representatives to keep the bill's deliberations under wraps.

"Two academic drafts of the bill have been thrashed out by a House special committee but no one in the committee has bothered to let the public know their contents. We suspect that they want to keep the controversy (over the legislation) alive," Ratna said in a meeting with the Reform Star Party faction at the House.

Ratna said the coalition was irked by committee chairman Balkan Kaplale's misleading statements about the bill.