A new broadcasting bill that seeks to remove content related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) behavior from national television is now being considered by the Indonesian House of Representatives.
While it’s still legal to be gay in Indonesia, except in Aceh province, state legislators are not willing to tolerate any LGBTQ-related content extending to Indonesian TV, according to The Telegraph.
National Mandate Party’s Hanafi Rais expressed his support for the bill and that he’s not worried about the LGBTQ’s absence from TV screens, stating, “I am sure there are still more creative ways to entertain people.”
Legislator Supiadin Aries Saputra explained that LGBTQ behavior is “dangerous and can ruin the morality of the younger generation.”
“It is against our culture, we have to ban it early before it becomes a lifestyle,” Saputra added.
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Once the new bill has been passed, all new shows, documentaries and advertisements are required to undergo screening before they are allowed to be released on TV.
Indonesia now joins Egypt in pushing to remove content pertaining to LGBTQ behavior from their respective media.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation head Makram Mohamed even likened homosexuality to a “shameful disease,” according to Egyptian Streets.
Mohamed pushed for a media blackout against LGBTQ-related material and explained that the role of the media is supposedly to portray the dangers of homosexuality instead of promoting it.
Furthermore, Mohamed even stated that he would only allow gays to be aired on TV if they were to admit and denounce their homosexual behavior. Aside from Indonesia and Egypt, Malaysia is also prone to prohibiting homosexual displays of affection in the media as they considered banning a film over its openly gay character.
Even China is hoping to rid LGBTQ content from their online videos after deeming it as “abnormal.”
