‘Pornography my arse’, says Papuan politician

Most entertaining quote of the week comes from the chairman of the West Papua provincial parliament, Jimmy Demianus Ijie, who strongly objects to a tough new Indonesian law against pornography.

Let's all applaud Jimmy Demianus Ijie who has no qualms about being sexy and showing    his arse

I’ve taken part in many Papuan performances in many places and I’ve only worn traditional clothes … you could see my arse and I was swaying my hips; I was being sexy. Are they going to arrest me for that too?

He said the law, passed after years of deliberation in Jakarta, was too wide-ranging and could criminalise Papuan culture, in which many people go semi-naked.

According to this report, Ijie was among hundreds who protested against the new pornography bill in Denpasar, Bali, where Hindus are in the majority.

Critics have branded the law – passed by mainly joyless Muslim lawmakers in Jakarta last month – a threat to religious freedom. They claim the law’s definition of pornography was too broad, and  that it could shatter national unity.

High-spirited protesters in traditional sarongs and translucent temple blouses marched toward the provincial governor’s office, cheering wildly at traditional dances and performances by local pop singers in figure-hugging pants.

A traditional Papuan dancer

A challenge to the law would be launched in Indonesia’s Constitutional Court next week, activist Ngurah Harta told the protest.

We have to win this judicial review or we will hold a massive civil disobedience campaign.

Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika pledged last month that his government would not enforce the pornography bill, but he did not turn up to Saturday’s protest.

Muslims make up roughly 90 percent of Indonesia’s 234 million population, which also contains sizeable Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Confucian minorities.