Ismira Lutfia – The Aceh office of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission has proposed a draft of the province's broadcasting qanun, or bylaw, that will be used as a standard to censor films, TV and programs to ensure they adhere to Islamic law.

The draft, however, received strong opposition from the local branch of the Independent Journalists Association (AJI), which objected on the grounds that the proposed measure violated press freedom laws.

Mukhtaruddin Yakob, head of the local branch of the AJI, said the draft had been submitted at the end of January to the governor's office for preliminary review.

"The proposed qanun is inconsistent with the [national] Press Law and the Broadcasting Law," he told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

Mukhtaruddin said the qanun would require inappropriate censorship of the program content of broadcasters operating in the staunchly Islamic province.

However, he said the draft did not specify whether the censorship will only apply to Aceh-based broadcasters or also cover content from national media outlets.

The proposed bylaw would require radio and television stations to broadcast live the obligatory weekly prayer on Fridays and prohibit them from airing crime reconstructions, obscene material and sexual harassment cases.

"It also bans broadcasters from airing fund-raising efforts that are not in the Muslims' interests," Mukhtaruddin said.

Under the qanun, movies, television shows (including soap operas and documentaries) and commercials would be subject to censorship by the Aceh Film Censorship Board and Aceh Film Advisory Board (Bapfida).

But Mukhtaruddin said the article of the draft bylaw regulating broadcast censorship could have multiple and nefarious interpretations because it also classified investigative news reports as documentary programs, which would be subject to review. "Investigative reports are product of journalism, how can they be censored?" he said.

None of the members of the Aceh broadcasting commission were available for comment on Wednesday.

However, Aceh Governor Irwandy Yusuf told the Globe that the draft was an initiative from the local commission, which his administration must respect. "We are studying its substance and urgency," he said.

A source in the administration suggested that the province had no need for such a censorship measure and the draft would likely never pass. But if the local government endorses the qanun, it would make Aceh the first region in the country to impose censorship over broadcasting content.