Playboy has launched the first issue of its Indonesian edition - a nudity free version that is less racy than competing local lad mags. Still, the launch of the product has sparked outrage among many of the country’s more fundamentalist Muslims.

Indcoup is also unimpressed, but for different reasons.:

It’s not Indah Ludiana. It’s not Sarah Azhari. And it’s not even Tiara Lestari.

Cos the playmate for the first edition of the Indonesian version of Playboy is Andhara Early.

But who the fu#k is she? I can hear you all shout.

Well, to be honest I haven’t got a clue.

Probably a second rate sinetron (Indonesian soap) actress I guess. Or perhaps they found her at some university campuses in this huge sprawling city.

But what about the product itself?

Well although the cover is a total … disgrace by Playboy’s normally high standards - have you ever seen a worse cover than that? - the inner pages are said to be a lot more revealing.

On the broader controversy, this January item from from Roy Tupai offers some welcome perspective.:

Islamic groups across the country are strongly protesting against the magazine, due to hit shelves in March, claiming it will destroy the morality of the nation’s young generation.

That’s rather odd, given that the publisher of the magazine has promised that Playboy Indonesia will respect local values, will not contain any nudity and will not be on sale to minors.

Furthermore, Indonesia already has a thriving black market in hardcore pornographic films, including bestiality titles, thanks to the support of corrupt police. Pirated hardcore pornography magazines are also available from certain street vendors. It’s quite easy for members of the nation’s “young generation” to purchase such salacious films and magazines for no more than Rp5,000 a title. That makes them somewhat more accessible than Playboy Indonesia, which will sell for Rp50,000.

Keeping on the subject of the “young generation”, child prostitution and trafficking exist in Indonesia, again thanks to cooperation from police and immigration officials on the payroll of sex industry syndicates.

And while it appears Playboy Indonesia will be rather tame, no one is raising a hue and cry over existing men’s interest magazines featuring photos of scantily clad women. Meanwhile, a growing number of the country’s domestic television networks are airing late night programs that show lingerie models on fashion shoots.

Then there are the smutty tabloids, such as Jakarta’s Pos Kota and Lampu Merah, which are filled with graphic stories about rape, prostitution, domestic violence and sexual abuse. The tabloids also contain luridly illustrated phone sex advertisements, as well as columns of classified advertisements for the services of prostitutes. The latter are thinly disguised as massage or health services, but the wording makes it abundantly clear what’s on offer. Take this recent example from Pos Kota (phone number partly omitted):

PENGOBATAN CEWEK2 CANTIK SEXY SERVICE OK MODEL MHSISWI (CHINES & PRIBUMI) LIVE SHOW/ LESBI/PASUTRI 081.8080XXXXX. [Medical Treatment from Beautiful Girls, Sexy Service Ok, Female Students and Models (Chinese & Indigenous) Live Show/Lesbian/Couples 081.8080XXXXX.]

Technorati Tags: censorship, indonesia, southeast asia, playboy

Via the Canadian journalist blog, a report that activists are seeking to prevent CCTV from broadcasting in Canada.:

Rogers’ attempt to bring nine Chinese TV channels to Canada has raised the ire of people protesting China’s reports Mike Oliveri of Canadian Press.

Critics say the Chinese television incites hatred; Rogers’ response is that people can “choose not to watch,” says the CP story.

Rogers says its job is to provide consumers with choice, and it will make the channels available unless the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission determines they’re not fit to air.

A group calling itself “Canadians Against Propaganda” says the channels are controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. It says their programming would propagate Chinese communist ideology and incite hatred, that previous programs celebrated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and concealed China’s SARS outbreak, and that its programs have attacked Taiwan and various religious groups.

AsiaPundit is shocked that Rogers Cable would consider carrying CCTV. It’s not so much that the stations promote hatred or communist propaganda, but AP can’t see Rogers attracting any new subscribers by offering some of the blandest and most idiotic television on the planet.

Technorati Tags: east asia, northeast asia, china, cctv