I

ndian police in Bollywood movies may not be popular in Indonesia, but a local police officer is now enjoying his 15 minutes of fame after a YouTube video showing him dancing and lip-syncing Bollywood songs went viral on the web.

The amusing video showcases First. Brig. Norman Kamaru, a member of the Mobile Brigade force in Gorontalo, dressed in police uniform, lip-syncing and dancing to the “Chaiyya-Chaiyya” song by Indian movie star Sahrukh Khan while on duty guarding a police post. His head and hand gestures resemble those made by Indian actors, while his lip-syncing proved that he had actually memorized the lyrics.

The National Police, however, are not happy with the officer, saying that they would punish him for “undisciplined and childish behavior”.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said Tuesday the Gorontalo Police had imposed a light sanction on Norman due to his “unethical actions”.

“He has been questioned and reprimanded. Police officers are allowed to sing and dance, but not when on duty. What he did breaches the code of ethics as he was wearing a police uniform and was on duty at the guard post,” Anton said, adding that the punishment could also affect Norman’s administrative record as a police officer.

Gorontalo Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Wilson Damanik said that the police would investigate whoever uploaded the video and why the action was recorded.

He said Norman had been trying to entertain colleagues at the post who appeared tired and bored. “We actually appreciate his intentions. It was quiet creative,” Wilson was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

Anton said Norman’s action could potentially further damage the already-tarnished image of the police before the public. “[His behavior] is not ethical and it does not meet public expectations. People want the police to be ready at anytime, particularly if they are deployed at a guard post,” Anton said.

Some people who have seen the video, however, did not seem to mind the officer’s actions. The video, titled “Gorontalo Police Goes Crazy”, has been viewed by more than 200,000 people since it was uploaded to YouTube a week ago. Most visitors have hit the “like” button. Many left comments saying, “I like your style! Go ahead, Norman!” and “I usually don’t like seeing policemen, but I like this one very much”.

Viewers of the video have applauded the video for showing artistic expression and the human side of police, as Norman’s actions had made people laugh.

The number of the video’s viewers is rising. A Facebook page called “Support Norman Kamaru to escape sanctions” that was set up to defend Norman has drawn thousands of Facebook users. Hundreds of Twitter users, including a number of Indonesian celebrities, also made supportive tweets to Norman.

“Whoever calls themselves singers but are unable to lip-sync as cool as Norman should be punished by law enforcement,” singer Glenn Fredly tweeted.

Hundreds of comments voicing support and praise for Norman have also been left in related news stories and articles posted on online news portals.

Lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari said Norman’s actions could help policemen look more friendly to the public. ”In Bangkok [Thailand], police officers dance while controlling traffic. That slices the strength impression of law enforcers and brings them closer to the people,” she said.

Gadjah Mada University anticorruption activist Zainal Arifin Mochtar said the police should focus on punishing high-level police officers involved in corruption and mafia activities rather than sanctioning the dancing policeman.

“There are so many police officers involved in misappropriation and abuse of power. They [should be] the true subjects of enforcement,” he said.