74 islam, politics and change
The pks also displayed a double-standard populist policy when
it supported the Anti-Pornography Law that censored pornographic
displays and lustful entertainment, but did not apply the same standard
to its own politician who was caught watching a porn video. The law was
controversial, as many groups accused it of being arbitrary, ambiguous,
imposing uniform esthetical standards and discriminating against
women. It was ratified as Law No. 44/2008 on 28 October 2008. The pks
was one of the staunchest supporters of the Act, and a pks politician
served as the vice-chairwoman of the bill’s committee. Unfortunately,
a pks Member of Parliament was caught watching a porn video during
a parliamentary session. Since then, the pks has been in a defensive
position, as the media blew up the scandal and pressed the pks to impose
the Anti-Pornography Law on its own politician. Nevertheless, the pks
still pushed the policy forward by proposing and supporting the creation
of a Taskforce for the Prevention and Tackling of Pornography¹⁰⁰ as a
special body that supervises the implementation of the Anti-Pornography
Law. The Taskforce is coordinated by the Minister for Social Affairs
and involves various ministries such as those of Religious Affairs,
Education, Law and Women’s Empowerment, and the police and also
non-governmental institutions such as academics and ngo activists.¹⁰¹
Lastly, the pks is also involved in implementing Sharia-inspired local
regulations. These are local regulations implemented by provincial and
district governments based on religious values, such as the prohibition
of liquor and gambling, forcing people (especially women) to wear
Islamic clothing, stopping public activities during Friday religious
meetings, requiring Qurʾanic literacy, etc. Out of 151 local governments
implementing such regulations, 42 are supported by the pks. In this case,
it seems that the pks’s perspective on policymaking is more rational and
normative, as it is eager to support government leaders with any policy
vision, not just those who implement Sharia-inspired regulations.
5 Conclusion
This chapter has explored the internal dynamics of the Indonesian
Prosperous Justice Party (pks) and its organisational root and supporter,
the Jamaah Tarbiyah (jt), in the context of democratising Indonesian
politics. The emergence of the pks on to the Indonesian political scene has
Presidential Decree No. 25/2012, ratified on 3 March 2012.
http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2012/03/13/15352741/Satgas.Antipornografi
.Sudah.Bekerja.sejak.3.Maret.