Keep Your Kisses Short In Indonesia

There's a new law of the land to keep in mind on your next visit to Indonesia. People who kiss each other on the lips for more than five minutes at public places in the Indonesian city of Tangerang can now be arrested.

The government in Tangerang, a suburb west of Jakarta, defended the regulation as a practical guideline for its officers to follow up on tough and heavily criticised anti-prostitution laws passed by the city council.

Kissing in public is generally frowned upon in Indonesia, especially in rural, predominantly Muslim areas, but giving a time limit for such behaviour is a first.

Mr. Ahmad Lutfi, head of the city's public order department declined to comment on whether officers would be armed with stopwatches.

Around 85 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people follow Islam, giving the islands the largest number of Muslims of any country. Although most are moderates, there are a growing number towards conservative attitudes.

The new anti-prostitution laws in the city of more than one million also sparked complaints from liberals earlier in the year after a female restaurant worker waiting for her husband on a street at night was picked up because police officers thought she was a prostitute.

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