Indonesia delays controversial anti-smut bill (Reuters)

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's parliament has postponed plans to table a controversial anti-smut bill after mounting opposition from critics who said the bill could hurt local cultural traditions, lawmakers said on Friday.

The anti-pornography bill aims to shield the young from pornographic material and lewd acts, but also contains provisions that could jail people for kissing in public and criminalise many forms of art or traditional culture that hinge on sensuality.

Lawmakers in the world's most populous Muslim nation have so far stopped short of passing the bill because of criticism it would threaten Indonesia's tradition of tolerance and polarise the country.

But some political parties were hoping for the bill's approval this month as the final draft was slated to be tabled in parliament on September 23.

Lawmakers said they did not know when the bill would be tabled.

"There's a tug of war between the pros and cons. People worry too much that this bill will be discriminatory," said Umung Anwar Sanusi, a member of parliament's culture and social affairs commission from the Prosperous and Justice Party (PKS).

The PKS, an Islamic party, supports the bill and one of its members said recently he hoped it would be passed as a "Ramadan gift".

The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan began on September 1 and ends with Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

So far, at least two parties -- the Christian Peace and Welfare Party and the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) -- have rejected the proposed bill.

Lawmakers watered it down following criticism and street protests over the issue early last year. Critics say it could pave the way for vigilante groups to take the law into their own hands under a pretext of upholding morality.

Opposition mounted in the past week, especially in the predominantly Hindu island of Bali where about a thousand people marched to protest against the bill.

"We are a country of very plural characteristics," said Agung Sasongko, a parliament member from PDI-P, which has rejected the bill.

"And the way people dress from the westernmost tip to the easternmost tip are varied, some more covered and some more revealing."

The draft of the legislation contains provisions that could jail people for kissing in public and criminalise many forms of art or traditional culture that hinge on sensuality.

Nude sculptures and paintings are common in culturally-rich Bali and in the eastern province of Papua some tribal men wear just penis gourds.

(Additional reporting by Telly Nathalia; Editing by Sugita Katyal and Jerry Norton)

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