Indonesia reportedly mulls kissing ban
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-07 10:03

Call it a kissing crackdown. Indonesia's government is considering a law banning unwed couples from pecking in public — and harshly penalizing those who do, The Jakarta Post reported Saturday.
 
The campaign against kissing is part of a proposal of sweeping reforms to laws adopted by the country's Dutch colonial rulers in the late 19th century.

The head of the panel that drafted the law said Muslim beliefs about decency had influenced its decision. Neighboring countries with large Muslim populations, such as Malaysia and Brunei, already enforce laws defining "khalwat," or "close proximity," a crime akin to adultery for unchaperoned meetings between Muslim men and women.

Indonesia's revised laws would set environmental protection standards and punish human rights violations and terrorism, the newspaper said.

But they would also impose penalties on unwed couples who kiss in public, while permitting police raids on the homes of those suspected of living together out of wedlock.

Pornography and public displays of "certain sensual body parts" would be outlawed and media, movies and songs censored.

Penalties for law breakers would range from fines as high as 300 million rupiah (US$32,800; euro25,300) to up to 10 years imprisonment, according to the daily.

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