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Anti-polygamy song barred in Indonesia

Indonesian authorities are trying to stop a music video featuring a young girl complaining about her father practising polygamy, from spreading.

A music clip of a young girl complaining about her father being a "bankrupt" and "damned" man for practising polygamy is being blocked by Indonesian authorities who say it is too "provocative".

The song titled Lelaki Kardus meaning Cardboard Man was uploaded to YouTube this week, sparking thousands of shares and raising the ire of conservative groups who called for it to be taken down.

Written in the popular dangdut genre, that mixes Malay, Hindu and Arabic styles, the clip features a young girl wagging her finger at her father, pushing him and calling him a "carpet man, a bankrupt man, a damned man".

"My father got married again ... My mother became a second. My mother asked for divorce but got beaten. My father is traitor, my mother is deceived."

The song's author Ahmad Sawadi has said it was based on his wife's childhood experience growing up in Indonesia where polygamy is still practised.

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On Twitter some lauded the song for raising an important social issue while others simply found it amusing.

But for Child Protection Commissioner Maria Advianti it is no joke.

She said the ministry of communication had blocked the song and co-ordinated with YouTube to take it down but were struggling to contain it.

"This kind of content is not suitable for children. People should not spread the video, spread the link or even comment on it," she told AAP.

Communication and Information Ministry Spokesman Ismail Cawidu said the government is trying to shut down the clip as the lyrics are "very provocative and teaching hate to children. It's really not educating nor empowering for children".

University of Indonesia Lecturer in communications Ade Armando said he could understand why the ministry is moving to block the song, saying "divorce, cheating, violence to women, to children, things like this should not be served in such a sensational fashion".

But, he argued, it was "dangerous" that a video can be banned so easily by the ministry without public consultation.

"If we allow this, there's always the possibility that the ministry will do it for their own interests ... This is dangerous for freedom of expression."

It's not the first time the Indonesian government has made moves to control socially controversial material on the internet.

In February the communication and information ministry called on digital content providers to "self-censor" when it came to "gay" emojis, while there has also been pushes to ban the video streaming site Netflix.


3 min read

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Source: AAP


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