T

he Jakarta Police have shrugged off any possible lobbying and negotiations over their decision not to issue a permit for the much-anticipated concert of US pop diva Lady Gaga, saying that their decision is final and will remain unchanged in the future.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said on Friday that representatives from Big Daddy Entertainment, the local promoter organizing Lady Gaga’s Jakarta concert, had fully accepted the decision after a meeting with chief Insp. Gen. Untung S. Rajab at police headquarters on Tuesday.

“We came to the conclusion that we would not issue a permit for the concert. The promoter accepted and understood our decision,” he said, adding that the police would assist the promoter during the process of ticket refunds.

One-third of the 40,000 tickets had been sold for the gig since sales opened on March 10. The Grammy-award winning Gaga, who is known for her unique outfits and distinguishing live performances, was slated to perform at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on June 3 as part of her “The Born This Way Ball” world tour. Gaga’s upcoming show in Indonesia received stern opposition from conservative Muslim groups.

No comment was available from the promoter as of Friday. However, in contrast to Rikwanto’s statements, Big Daddy announced on Thursday that the fight to hold the concert was “still on” as they were still negotiating with the police over the permit.

“Sorry, Lil’ Monsters, we are in a ‘sensitive’ state at the moment as we are still working on the permit. For the sake of the process [to obtain the permit], we cannot provide many comments to the media. We’ll update you soon,” the organizer wrote on its Twitter account @bigdaddyid on Thursday.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution echoed Rikwanto’s statements, saying that the National Police would not issue a permit if the city police did not recommend the event be held.

“If the Jakarta Police say that the decision is final, then it is final. Things will become worse if the concert is held forcefully,” he said Friday.

Head of public relations bureau, Brig. Gen. Muhammad Taufik, told tempo.co on Friday that it still had to check whether the promoter had completed all of the permits required to hold a concert in the country. (sat)