INDONESIA: Scant skin on display in tame local 'Playboy'

Tamer version of Playboy in Indonesia is legala and not offensive, says Press Council

Jakarta Post
Saturday, April 8, 2006

By M. Taufiqurrahman

Jakarta --- Eager readers of the debut local edition of Playboy were left grumbling that the content of the much-anticipated men's magazine was more soft-focus than soft-core.

Where were all the naked women?

More highbrow subjects gained a lot of space in its 160 pages, including an interview with renowned man of letters Pramoedya Ananta Toer, an investigative report on indigenous religions by Pantau journalist Agus Sopian and an expos‚ of the country's lucrative oil industry, written by economist Poltak Hotradero.

Save for these, the magazine resembles many of the hard-to-distinguish mainstream lifestyle magazines hogging space on local newsstands.

There are blink-and-you-miss-them music (including local heavy metal band Serieus) and film review columns (Good Night, Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain).

In one of its stories taken from the U.S. founding publication, Playboy Indonesia tells how Japanese automaker Toyota is on the road to dominating the American car market.

Of course, the text is not what most, if any, readers buy the magazine for, but the local Playboy failed to deliver on the cheesecake quotient. In fact, it has taken a more conservative approach than other male-oriented magazines such as Maxim, FHM and Stuff.

Computer wizardry left a lot to the imagination in concealing Miss April Kartika Oktarini Gunawan, despite her being garbed in a revealing outfit in the centerfold.

The boldest pose resorted to by TV personality Andhara Early consists of her lounging on a sofa and baring her midriff and thighs.

"I did not become a Playboy model to seek popularity. This is a challenge for me as a model," the cover girl said in the magazine interview.

Given the relatively inoffensive materials, media experts said there should be no repeat of the commotion that greeted the announcement earlier this year of its planned publication.

"Which part is offensive and which part of the Indonesian culture has been offended?" Media analyst Veven S.P. Wardhana told The Jakarta Post.

He said that conservative groups which opposed Playboy could not file a lawsuit against it simply because it has become a symbol of "vulgarity".

The Press Council also decided that there was no problem with Playboy. "They publish decent materials and they do not violate any laws on obscenity," Press Council member Sabam Leo Batubara told the Post.

Feverish reception greets 'Playboy'
 
Jakarta --- All the frenzied speculation about the content of the Indonesian edition of Playboy men's magazine was very good for business on its debut Friday.

The curious snatched up copies as soon as they arrived, with many vendors reporting they were sold out as early as 3 a.m. Some buyers had placed reserve orders for the magazine days ahead.

"Maybe people were afraid we'd run out of a copy, so they ordered from me from a while back," Yadi, a retailer at WTC Mangga Dua shopping mall in Central Jakarta, was quoted by detik.com as saying.

But what they got their hands on was not up to the salacious advance billing, most it fueled by protesters assuming its content would resemble that of the U.S. magazine.

With demure-looking TV presenter Andhara Early on the cover, the 160-page glossy magazine featured breezy lifestyle features, a few girlie pictorials as well as serious in-depth pieces on the economy, religion and an interview with literary giant Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

In fact, its pictorials, while baring some skin, were tamer than many other men's magazines and titillating tabloids available here.

"This is no different from women's magazines, the cover is so plain and decent, there's nothing pornographic here," magazine buyer Takdir Siregar told The Jakarta Post in Semanggi, South Jakarta.

"I want it to be like the American version, the photographs in this are not even that provocative, not like what people were so worried about," said Rifki, another buyer at Gambir train station in Central Jakarta.

He wished he had used his Rp 39,000 (about US$4.3) to purchase For Him Magazine, which sells for Rp 24,000.

The toned-down content was not enough for some opponents of the magazine's publication.

The Islamic Defender Front (FPI) protested at Playboy's office on Jl. TB Simatupang, South Jakarta, to demand the magazine's withdrawal from the market.

"Playboy in the Betawi language means bandot, meaning someone who defiles women and virgins, therefore Playboy is not fit for Indonesian people and Muslims," coordinator for FPI's investigative body, Habib Alwi Usman, said during the rally.

He also said the publisher reneged on its promise for limited distribution of the magazine through subscription sales and availability at select outlets.

Chairman of the Indonesian Antipiracy and Pornography Community (MAPPI) Syamsul Huda reported publisher PT Velvet Silver Media's director Ponti Carolus, chief editor Erwin Arnada, photographer Oke Gania and models Andhara and Kartika Oktarini Gunawan to police for violating the criminal code on indecency.

"All the photographs here show pornography. This model here is even wearing see-through clothing without any underwear," Syamsul said, pointing to the centerfold of Miss April Kartika in a blue lace negligee.

City councillors agreed the magazine's distribution should be controlled.

"I've read the magazine, the content is very much like other magazines for men. Even so, the distribution of the magazine needs to be restricted, after all the Playboy label is distinctly provocative," Vike Verry Ponto, a councillor from the Democrat Party, told the Post.

Mohammad Arifin from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) warned the public needed to remain alert because the "staid" first edition could be a move by the publisher to gain acceptance.

City Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said the police would seek expert opinions on whether Playboy's content violated the Criminal Code.

"We will ask experts' opinion about the language, the photos and so on. If from our investigation we find any of the content violated the Criminal Code, then we will take action," Firman said, adding he saw nothing pornographic from his "layman's" point of view.

Date Posted: 4/8/2006