Surabaya – Dangdut singer Rhoma Irama touched on the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence (RUU PKS) in a speech at a campaign rally for presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto and running mate Sandiaga Uno at the Delta Sidoarjo Sports Stadium in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya on Sunday March 31.
“Right now in the DPR [House of Representatives] there is [deliberations on] the RUU PKS which is intended as protection against sexual violence”, said Irama before thousands of people attending the campaign rally.
The man dubbed as the “King of Dangdut” – a popular music style with a strong Hindu type musical beat – said that the content of the RUU PKS, which was drawn up during the era of presidential candidate incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, will legalise adultery and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) groups.
“Want to know what’s in it? As long as it’s with mutual consent, men are allowed to commit adultery with women. As long as it’s with mutual consent even men can marry men”, said the chairperson of the Peaceful and Benign Islam Party (Partai Idaman).
“Women are even allowed to marry women. This is LGBT, which is already practiced in several countries around the world”, said Irama.
According to Irama, if Widodo is reelected as the president of Indonesia then it is not out of the question that the draft law will be enacted.
“If you don’t agree (with the RUU PKS) then don’t vote [for him]. If you agree please go ahead and vote for him. But you will be accountable to Allah and to the Indonesian nation. Understand?”, he said.
In addition to this, Irama also touched on the issue of infrastructure development which he said is being built with the ordinary people’s taxes.
He said that it is inappropriate for a group of people to lay claim to the results of infrastructure development such as referring to the toll roads that have been built as “Jokowi’s Toll Roads”.
“Toll roads are a product of the ordinary people not Jokowi’s toll roads. They’re paid for by the people. So they’re not Jokowi’s Toll Roads but the people’s toll roads, the people’s toll roads, the people’s toll roads”, cried Irama.
He also invited the thousands of people present to vote for Prabowo and Sandiaga who, according to Irama, are fighting for the interests of the ordinary people and the Islamic community.
Aside from Irama, the campaign rally was also attended by a number of national figures, kiai (Islamic teachers) and political party leaders including Hidayat Nur Wahid from the Islamic based Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS), the deputy head of Prabowo’s election campaign team Priyo Budi Santoso, Democrat Party Secretary General Hinca Panjaitan, National Mandate Party (PAN) Chairperson Zulkifli Hasan and the deputy chairperson of Prabowo’s Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) Rachmawati Soekarnoputri.
The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has said there are many reasons why the RUU PKS must be ratified immediately.
These includes the dangerous levels of sexual violence in Indonesia, a legal system which does not yet accommodate the different kinds of sexual violence which occur and the Criminal Procedural Code (KUHAP) which only focuses on the prosecution of perpetrators and fails to side with the victims.
Komnas Perempuan Commissioner Imam Nahei also says that the RUU PKS will not legalise adultery [which is not in fact a crime in Indonesia].
“If the RUU on the Elimination of Sexual Violence is deemed pro-adultery, pro-LGBT, then I think it hasn’t been read fully to see the whole spirit of the proposed RUU on the Elimination of Sexual Violence”, said Nahei.
In the deliberations on the RUU PKS, Komnas Perempuan has never ventured into the territory of free sex. (frd/wis)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Rhoma Irama Sebut RUU PKS Legalkan Zina dan LGBT”.]
