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Ancol to 'fix' naked mermaid statues
“[The statues] are currently being fixed. They became the center of attention so we are fixing them to improve them,” Rika Lestari told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
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Cover up: A mermaid statue is seen with a golden cloth draped around its breasts at Ancol, North Jakarta, on Friday. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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ncol Dreamland Park’s decision to cover topless mermaid statues at the Putri Duyung Resort with gold clothes has sparked controversy — and also a barrage of online mockery.
The theme park operator had stood by its decision until Tuesday, when the statues were suddenly no longer in public sight.
Rika Lestari, the spokesman of city-owned property developer PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol, said the statues were currently being fixed “to make them look better”.
“[The statues] are currently being fixed. They became the center of attention so we are fixing them to improve them,” she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
She did not explain which part of the statues needed repair or whether the statues were actually broken at all. It was also unclear how long the “repairs” would take.
The company has been facing criticism from internet users as well as some visitors who find its decision to cover the torsos of the mermaid statues with gold cloth, locally known as kemben, as unnecessary, if not ridiculous.
The statues have been displayed at the resort for years but only last year did the Ancol management decide to cover them so they would be more compatible with “Eastern norms”.
