AN indigenous community in Indonesia has requested an internet blackout in their area to minimise the “negative impact” of the online world, officials said today.

The Baduy, a community of 26,000 people in Banten province on Java island, divide themselves into an outer group that partly adopts technology, and a sacred inner group that shuns the trappings of contemporary life.

The inner group asked authorities to shut down internet reception or divert nearby telecommunication towers so the signal would not reach them, said a letter seen by AFP.

“This request is a part of our efforts to minimise the negative impact of smartphones on our people,” Baduy representatives wrote.

They argued the towers built near their area could threaten their way of life and the morals of young people who may be tempted to use the internet.

Officials in Lebak district told AFP they received the letter on Monday, and agreed to talk with Indonesia’s information ministry to try and comply with the request.

“Essentially, we want to always accommodate what the Baduy people want, and (respect their) need to maintain their traditions and local wisdom,” Lebak official Budi Santoso told AFP today.

He said internet access is needed by the outer Baduy, who have started online businesses, but officials are concerned visitors or tourists can access the web and show content they view as inappropriate to Baduy people.

Internet freedom in conservative, Muslim-majority Indonesia is a controversial issue. The government has banned gambling and pornography, and requires internet providers to filter content they deem inappropriate.

Despite the censorship, illegal websites hosting such content are rampant.

The reclusive inner Baduy – dubbed the Amish of Asia by Western media – have chosen to live in the jungle and reject technology, money and traditional schooling.

They reside in three villages across a 4,000ha area that is several hours by car from capital Jakarta.

The government declared the area a cultural conservation site in 1990.

Indonesia is a vastly diverse country with more than 1,300 ethnic groups spread across the archipelago. – AFP, June 9, 2023.