You would think that in conservative Indonesia, where Islam is dominant and appearing pious is important, those involved in sexy scandals would be cast aside and forever shunned by society. But it’s never that clear cut; a sex scandal could either break, or make, one’s career.










So even after enduring a sex scandal in Indonesia, there’s still hope for happiness, which we think is a pretty good sign for the country’s progressive future.
Too Hot for Indonesia? What happens after a celebrity sex scandal
In summary, then, it’s possible to read the epidemic of politician sex videos in multiple ways. Viewing them positively, we can think of them as a sign of the Indonesian public’s willingness to separate the private and public spheres, by ignoring the sexual indiscretions of their leaders. After all, very few of the politicians concerned have been brought down by these scandals. It’s hard to imagine, say, a governor in the United States surviving the sort of public notoriety that Syahrul Yasin Limpo enjoyed for a while when his (alleged) home movie first emerged. In the United States, it should be said, it is possible to survive a sex scandal, usually by way of public expressions of contrition; in Indonesia, most politicians simply tough it out and ignore the videos, or deny it was them.
Shift the perspective just a little, however, and this very same outcome seems like a sign of the continuing hypocrisy of Indonesia’s political bosses, and of their ability to maintain themselves in power even when flagrantly violating local norms. In this regards, the most apt comparison is perhaps Italy’s Berlusconi, who was able to survive politically in what is in many ways a conservative nation, despite his ‘bunga-bunga’ parties and liaisons with underage prostitutes. Pornography is vigorously condemned right across the political spectrum in Indonesia, and some of the politicians who have been caught on film also cloak themselves in religion and morality when they campaign for office. Viewed in this light, surviving a sex video looks a more like surviving a corruption scandal than standing up for the sanctity of the private sphere.



















