JAKARTA — If prosecuting attorney Resni Muchtar get his way, the editor-in-chief of Playboy Indonesia will be found guilty of distributing indecency and spend 32 months chilling in prison for publishing and making money from the kind of photos that Americans of all ages see on a daily basis.Erwin Arnada’s trial began last Thursday, in spite of the fact that the Indonesian government has made no efforts to ban the magazine that he works for and the publication itself has relocated its offices to Bali after having them brutally vandalized.
The magazine’s first issue — innocent by Western standards and showing less flesh than some other magazines and many tabloids available in Indonesia — sparked angry and even violent protests when it hit the stands last April in the predominantly Muslim country. Now 42-year-old Arnada stands accused of distributing and profiting from indecent photos that prosecutors say include models with “inviting expressions on their faces.”
According to Arnada, the presence of Playboy in Indonesia is a step toward developing a more tolerant and pluralistic society. His opponents, however, insist that his magazine is lewd, illegal, and must be stopped. The first step in stopping the publication appears to be holding Arnada responsible for everything it contains.
“They were unsuitable for civility and could arouse lust among readers,” Muchtar explained to the court last week while insisting that Arnada receive the full penalty allowed by law. “So, they violated feelings of decency.” Further, these unacceptable “Photos, drawings, and articles in Playboy Indonesia magazine were the results of the defendant’s selection.”
Arnada’s trial bas been adjourned until December 14th, when witness’ testimonies will be heard. Prosecutors intend to try Indonesian Playboy titleholders Ponto Carolus Pondian and Okke Gania separately.
Articles in Playboy Indonesia have included topics such as amputees from Cambodia’s civil war, mail-order brides, and domestic violence against children. Centerfold that have remained clothed and a lonely-hearts column are the two major indicators that the publication is geared toward men. An example of the photographic fare available to licentious readers is the June issue’s cover, which pictures an Indonesian woman wearing a long mohair sweater, a pair of briefs, showing some cleavage and the hint of a belly button.
In addition to the non-nude Playboy Indonesia , other popular Western men’s magazines have begun appearing in the country, including FHM and Maxim, neither of which have included nude photos. Although somewhat racy by local standards, the magazines are said to appeal to the country’s growing secular middle class.
Bali, which has a predominantly Hindu population, has had little to say about the matter, but the 85-percent Muslim Indonesia has been another story, although the publication continues to be available on its shelves, in spite of attacks on the now closed Jakarta office. The majority of Indonesian Muslims are moderate, but conservative elements in the world’s most highly Muslim populated nation are politically active and aggressive in defending the religion’s modest approach to sexuality. In spite of the latter’s efforts, Indonesia has a thriving underground porn trade and domestic publications with far more explicit textual and visual offerings than those found in Playboy Indonesia.
