Ida Indawati Khouw, Jakarta – If lawmakers working on the pornography bill had taken the time to study the criticisms of the draft law found in so many academic papers, newspaper articles and others, Indonesians could have saved their much-needed energy for more important issues.

The House of Representatives finally announced good news on Thursday: They had postponed the passage of the bill due to divisions among the public, and they would extend the deliberation period, though still hoping to have the bill passed by the end of the year.

Critics demanded that legislators study carefully all the criticism voiced in the past years, that they should pay attention to what the critics were saying and stop playing dirty politics in the process.

A legislator from one of the parties that walked out of the deliberations claimed his signature had been forged for the sake of reaching the minimum number of House members needed to deliberate the bill.

"I found out my signature was forged in the interests of the bill's proponents. They did so in the hope that the deliberation meeting reached the quorum," said Agung Sasongko of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Other critics say the legislators supporting the bill were striving to make the process increasingly closed, allowing entry only to those parties likely to support the bill.

"We were once banned from joining a bill deliberation meeting at the House, while parties (supporting the bill) were being accepted," said Beny Wijayanto from the Women's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH APIK).

A respected scholar of philosophy, Franz Magnis-Suseno, wrote in Kompas last week that the lawmakers were acting like "thieves making use of the dim light" and even "blackmailing" people by implying that those who did not support the pornography bill were against the spirit of Ramadan.

Magnis-Suseno was referring to the dangerous politics the lawmakers were engaged in, with one House member even suggesting that the bill, if passed this month, would be "a Ramadan gift". "Aren't they ashamed?" he added.

Islamist political parties, such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) in alliance with radical elements within more moderate parties such as the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN) as well as the Golkar Party are the staunch supporters of the bill. Clear opposition has come from the PDI-P and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS).

Critics say the bill is framed as being what Muslims want, as the lawmakers supporting the bill associate it with promotion of "good values" – although winning Muslims' votes sounds the more obvious target.

The bill has been revised several times in the past 10 years with the latest version no longer criminalizing kissing in public, a clause which once made Indonesia the potential butt of worldwide mockery. But the contentious definition of pornography remains, potentially leading to public misinterpretation.

The concept and definition of pornography has always been hotly debated. The bill's latest draft defines pornography as "any man-made sexual material in the form of drawings, sketches, illustrations, photographs, text, sound, moving pictures, animation, cartoons, poetry, conversation, body movements, or any other form of communicative message or performance in public place that potentially arouses sexual desire and violates normative values within society".

Critics have pointed to what they said were the misleading terms of "sexual material" and "sexual desire".

Women's rights advocates deplore that instead of focusing on the degradation of women's dignity, the die-hard lawmakers are insisting on pushing moral issues behind the phrase "sexual desire" that potentially criminalizes women who, usually, are the object, and thus the victim, of the commercialization of pornography. Women's rights campaigners have asserted that the definition should focus on the degradation of women's dignity, instead of sexual desire or "arousing lust". They add that the target of any pornography law should be those behind the pornography industry, and not its victims.

The Network of Pro-Women's National Legislation Program (JKP3) also criticizes the term "sexual material", saying that sexuality encompasses the identity of human beings. It cited the 2005 Indonesian dictionary published by Balai Pustaka, saying that sexuality includes sexual desire and sexual characteristics.

"Sexuality" also encompasses eroticism and sensuality, the Network said, "which cannot be equated with pornography".

The difficulties in defining pornography are also complicated by differences among those who speak for women themselves – whether there can be a distinction between erotica (which is celebratory of female sexuality) and pornography.

Those who say "no" will find bedfellows with the Islamists, who say any portrayal touching on sexuality is degrading to both men and women.

Given all the complexity, the network and like-minded critics demand that the bill, if there must be one, should focus on effective regulation, imposing sanctions on the pornography industry while not interfering with people's private domain, through such vague restrictions regarding the body, art, cultural performances and individual expression.