Abstract
One of the most observable achievements in the development of liberal democracy in Indonesia after the fall of the Soeharto’s New Order is the flourishing freedom of the press. One notable case was the Indonesian Playboy magazine and court decisions pertaining to it, which was successful in drawing massive public and even international attention. By thoroughly describing thoughts, feelings, values, and beliefs of various actors involved, this article explains the impacts of liberal democracy experimentation in Indonesia after the amendment of 1945 Constitution. This case has provided an excellent opportunity in observing the rule of law in enforcing the freedom of the press in Indonesia facing social cultural elements strongly adhered to by Indonesian people.
Highlights
The fall of Soeharto’s New Order2 in 1998 signaled the advent of a new period in Indonesian legal and political history, commonly referred as the “reformation era.”3 This period was signified by, amongst others with amendment of the 1945 constitution, the first ever in the history of Indonesia.Volume 4 Number 1, January - April 2014 INDONESIA Law Review ~ 33 ~During this period, the amendments of the constitution was said to indicate the advent of liberal democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights in Indonesia.4The first measure taken by the new administration was the restoration of civil and fundamental freedoms
According to AJI, in a democratic and heterogeneous country like Indonesia, each person and group has to accept the difference of opinions, upholds the freedom of the press, and must not impose his/her belief onto others; such imposing of beliefs which is done by means of terror, intimidation, threat of physical violence violates of criminal law
For fundamentalist Muslims, their rejection to the magazine is largely due to its image regardless of content, whereas for liberals, there is no justifiable reason for the rejection because the constitution and the law have guarantee protection to the freedom of the press
Summary
The fall of Soeharto’s New Order in 1998 signaled the advent of a new period in Indonesian legal and political history, commonly referred as the “reformation era.” This period was signified by, amongst others with amendment of the 1945 constitution, the first ever in the history of Indonesia During this period, the amendments of the constitution was said to indicate the advent of liberal democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights in Indonesia.. After the fall of the New Order, a new Press Law was adopted, bringing in a new page in guaranteeing the freedom of the press in Indonesia This law abolished mandatory government licenses for the press and publishing businesses, as well as any other form of government intervention to the press such as press criminalization and other regulations prohibiting the freedom of the press. A very strong and widespread protest occurred in Jakarta, and in other major cities in Indonesia. Hundreds of thousands of people attend mass rallies to oppose the introduction of the Indonesian edition of the magazine, with fundamentalist Muslim groups manning the utmost front lines of the rallies
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