DENPASAR, BALI — The island of Bali will not enforce the anti-pornography law passed last year by the government of officially secular but predominantly Muslim Indonesia. According to officials, the law — which bans nudity and sexually explicit imagery — would require Balinese citizens to reject a large portion of the island’s culture and traditions.“As long as I am the governor of Bali, I, along with the head of the provincial government in Bali, have stated that we will not enforce this law in Bali,” Governor Mangku Pastika told Reuters. He added the law is “not appropriate for the people of Bali.”
Among the most likely casualties of enforcement would be Balinese art and the centuries-old tradition of outdoor bathing. Neither is pornographic, Pastika told Reuters, though some traditional art is sexually graphic.
“The artworks and cultural practices of Bali are not in any way meant to be pornographic,” he said. “They are meant to educate and communicate about the essence of life and existence.”
Concerns about the effect of the law on tourism — the primary industry in Bali — are not valid, Pastika said, because the central Indonesian government in Jakarta already has made an exception for tourists who are prone to wearing scanty swimwear. Because the anti-porn legislation bans the public display of behaviors and attire that might incite lust, some worried tourists would be arrested.
Pastika said he is aware the Balinese government’s decision not to enforce the law puts the island at odds with the country’s central government, but he and other officials believe their decision is a moral obligation.
“The governor is obligated to listen to and fulfill the aspirations of the people who chose him,” he told Reuters. “This is also true in the area of law enforcement. If the people reject a law, that means the law is inconsistent with the aspirations of the people. In a true democracy, the aspirations of the people are the priority.
“For the people of Bali, it’s not only what’s written but also what’s moral and ethical,” he said.
