T

he worlds of comedy and politics are not so far apart when it comes to the need for performers to be educated about visas.

On Thursday, a Foreign Ministry official said Indonesian performers had to learn their rights and responsibilities when traveling abroad. On Friday, representatives of professional Indonesian comedians and performers said they agreed and they are asking the ministry for help.

About 12 members of the Indonesian Comedy Artists Union (PASKI) met with Deputy Foreign Minister AM Fachir to ask for education on visa functions and restrictions following the recent arrest of two comedians from Blitar, East Java, by Hong Kong authorities for performing for pay while on tourist visas.

Yudo “Cak Yudo” Prasetyo and Deni “Cak Percil” Afriandi were arrested on Feb. 2, accused of violating Hong Kong law. Cak Yudo and Cak Percil are in detention, awaiting trial in March.

PASKI member Eko Patrio said the arrests provided a lesson for performers who work abroad.

“There has to be more education on visa functions because not all people know this, especially those from villages who are mostly unaware of this,” Eko, who is also a member of the House of Representatives, said on Friday.

PASKI chairman Deri Sudarisman also said the comedian community wants the Foreign Ministry to try to ensure the case proceeds swiftly and to bring their colleagues home soon. “We’re really counting on the hard work of our representative in Hong Kong to bring our friends back home to their families,” he said.

The Indonesian Consul General in Hong Kong, Tri Tharyat, who was also at the meeting, said the arrests of the two comedians were among many cases in which Hong Kong had taken legal action against people who violated the territory’s immigration laws.

“Hong Kong rejected or arrested about 60,000 people in the last year, with 13,800 of them from the Asia-Pacific region. Most of the cases were because of unclear purposes, fake documents and other reasons, such as using tourist visas for work,” he said.

Indonesia is one of several countries granted 30-day visa-free access to Hong Kong, but only for tourism.

“Not only comedians, but also all arts performers and religious preachers have to know that if they go abroad there are things they need to file for their work visas, as well as ensure that the event promoters are responsible for the performers’ well-being,” Eko said.

AM Fachir said the case of the comedians was certainly a lesson for Indonesian citizens to learn.

“We also expect all our citizens to apply for visas according to their purposes and look for the provisions in each country,” he said.