T

he battle to hold a concert for American pop diva Lady Gaga in Jakarta reached new heights Tuesday with attacks coming from many corners against the Jakarta Police’s decision not to endorse the issuance of a permit for the long-awaited event.

Although Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said they had met with local promoter Big Daddy Entertainment earlier in the day and that the latter “understood the reasons behind the police’s refusal to issue a permit for the show”, and that the police would oversee ticket refunds, the organizer wrote on its Twitter account @bigdaddyid on the same day that the show was still on.

“We’ve met several public representatives. Be patient, Little Monsters,” the account read at 6:51 p.m., referring to the fans of the Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter of such global hits as “Poker Face” and “Born This Way”.

“We’ll keep updating you. The fight is still on.”

The Mother Monster’s concert was due to take place on June 3 at Bung Karno Main Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Rikwanto said the police had received input from various organizations — including the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and the Islamic People’s Forum (FUI) — in reaching the decision to withhold a permit for Lady Gaga.

He said it was the first time authorities had ever banned a foreign singer from performing in Indonesia. Over the years, several foreign performers have canceled their scheduled concerts in Indonesia for various reasons, but none of them were banned by law enforcement agencies.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution claimed the decision was aimed at maintaining Jakarta’s calm, given the rampant rejections from the groups.

The PPP’s secretary-general, M. Romahurmuziy, said that the party had called on the police to ban Lady Gaga’s concert because she was anti-religion, while PKS deputy chairman, Mustafa Kamal, said the party strongly supported the police decision, as the artist would likely promote “inappropriate culture” among Indonesians.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmakers, however, criticized the police for bowing to pressure from hard-line groups.

“The police should not side with the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) or any other groups, as they must uphold freedom of speech as well as expression at all costs. This decision is an obvious reflection of the police’s inability to control the FPI. They play safe rather than taking the risk of facing up to the group,” PDI-P lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari said.

Jakarta is among the first stops on Gaga’s “Born This Way Ball” world tour. More than 50,000 tickets have been sold since selling opened on March 10. The show’s cancellation would be a backward step in efforts to develop a more open Indonesia and bad news for business.

The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry’s director general for cultural value, arts and film, Ukus Kuswara, said the ministry would be disappointed if Lady Gaga had to cancel her performance as she would help boost tourism in Indonesia.

“A singer like Lady Gaga will help improve Indonesia’s image as a tourist destination as well as a country that appreciates the arts,” Ukus said.

According to his data, some 12,000 foreign tourists from Australia, the Philippines, and other ASEAN and Middle Eastern countries had bought tickets and booked rooms in three- and four-star hotels in Jakarta to watch the gig. “Image is very important in tourism and we are still struggling to create ours,” he said.

The authorities’ decision has been the source of widespread debate on the Internet, with the hashtag #IndonesiaSavesGaga appearing incessantly on Twitter.

“Lady Gaga can’t hold a concert in Indonesia because they say she’s vulgar, and yet lawmakers shot to fame by starring in porn videos,” @Dininabobo said. (nfo)

Margareth S. Aritonang and Bagus BT Saragih contributed to reporting