Bayu Marhaenjati – More Islamic organizations came to Jakarta Police headquarters on Wednesday to denounce Lady Gaga's upcoming concert in the capital, as the Jakarta Police stuck to its stance to withhold its recommendation for the show.
The groups included Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), the Indonesian Chinese Islamic Union, Syarikat Islam Hidayatullah, the Muslim Lawyers' Team and Tarbiyah Islam.
They followed in the footsteps of the eight other groups, including the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the Islamic People's Forum (FUI), that visited the Jakarta Police headquarters earlier this month to demand the show, scheduled for June 3, be cancelled.
"We reject the Lady Gaga concert on a number of considerations, including cultural liberalization, which degrades the morality of the younger generation," HTI chairman Muhammad Rahmad Kurnia said after a meeting with the Jakarta Police chief on Wednesday.
"We support the stance of the Jakarta Police not to recommend the concert." Muhammad added that the HTI would stage a protest on Thursday. "If they go on [with the plan], each organization will continue rejecting it through different ways," Rahmat said.
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Untung S. Rajab said his office still refused to recommend the concert to the National Police, which must issue the concert promoter a permit before the show can go on.
But Untung did say the Jakarta Police would recommend the show once the promoter managed to meet administrative procedures and secure a permit from the National Police.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said earlier on Tuesday that his office would dispatch up to 4,000 personnel to secure the concert, if the permit was issued. "We'll give a recommendation if the organizer manages to meet the administrative requirements and comply with moral norms and laws existing in Indonesia," Untung said.
He said he regretted that the promoter, Big Daddy, had sold more than 52,000 tickets even though the required permit had not been obtained. The National Police have said they will decide early next week whether to issue the permit. (BeritaSatu/JG)