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National Narcotics Agency holds dance competition to wage war on drugs
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Shake it off: The BNN hopes the competition will help it in its war on drugs. (Unsplash/Michael Afonso) (Unsplash/Michael Afonso)
T
he National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has opened a competition called Dancing Against Drugs for the public, with a total prize of millions of rupiah.
With “war on drugs” as its theme, the agency hopes that Indonesians can see this opportunity as a way to keep their minds off drugs, especially during the pandemic.
"The point is, by inviting people to show their contemporary dances, we hope this young generation will be more creative, their bodies healthier, their brains exceptional and they can stay away from drugs," BNN spokesperson Brig. Gen. Sulistyo Pudjo explained on Tuesday, as quoted by Detik.
"Don't think about the difficulty of going to school during the pandemic or how difficult it is to wear a mask everywhere. We really open a different way of thinking, in that during the pandemic, our children must stay away from drugs, [and that can be achieved through] dance activities," he said.
Registration runs from Jan. 24 until Feb. 21 and is free of charge. People who wish to take part in the competition must be aged 15 to 58 years, follow BNN’s social media pages, form a group of three to five people, and describe their dance and how it relates to “war on drugs” in a script.
The contemporary dance must also include a local aspect of each participant’s region, among other criteria that the agency list in a requirement link.
Reactions on BNN’s social media pages have been varied, but many mocked the agency’s lack of creativity in the poster design.
"We worked hard to make the best design so it could meet everyone’s expectations,” Pudjo responded. “But we did intend to make the design look rowdy, which suits the current trend, but of course not everyone can accept that.”
Last year, BNN also put out a song about the war on drugs, with a TikTok video released on Mar. 25. The YouTube video released on Apr. 23 shows the agency head and the rest of the staff dancing to the trap-oriented song in a choreography, which was met by public ridicule on social media.
“Seems like the effect of listening to this song is more harmful than doing drugs,” one user commented below the YouTube video.
