Tempo editor warns anti-pornography bill pushing people too far

Tempo is a magazine that has always pushed the edges of what is acceptable in Indonesia. It frequently names people and its editors have been jailed before. The current Tempo editor, Bambang Harymurti, has warned fundamental Muslims to back of on the anti-pornography bill.

Harymurti points out that Indonesians all over the country, including the majority of moderate Muslims are angry at the demands and goals of groups like the Islamic Defenders Front. The proposed anti-pornography bill is a Trojan horse, designed to legalize Sharia law through the back door. Balinese Hindu’s and Papuan Christian rightly see this as a vehicle to clamp down on their arts and culture.

The Tempo editor warns that regular people may erupt if there is a clamp down on their liberty and the fundamental Muslim groups could be in for rude awakening.