Jakarta – A performance that was banned in the past is being showcased in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's era. The show, Opera Tan Malaka, was once performed at Salihara Theater in Jakarta. The banning occurred in Malang and Kediri, East Java.

The banning applied to three local TV stations in the two cities – BatuTV, Malang TV and KSTV Kediri. Certain people from local authorities considered the opera to hold a leftist teaching, which was feared to stir unrest, according to detik.com news portal.

Records of the opera, which were performed at Salihara Theater from Oct. 18 to Oct. 20, 2010, were later aired by local TV throughout Indonesia. They were successfully aired by eight local TV stations – Duta TV in Banjarmasin (Jan. 5 and 7), Tarakan TV (Jan. 7), Madura Channel (Jan. 9), Taz TV Tasikmalaya (Jan. 9), Bengkulu TV (Jan. 7), Siak TV Siak (Jan. 8i), TVKU Semarang (Jan. 8) and KRTV Aceh (Jan. 8).

In Malang, however, a police officer identified as Sukoco went to BatuTV, asking the station not air the record of Opera Tan Malaka produced by TEMPOTV. Two soldiers from the local military district command also arrived at the TV station later at a different time.

KSTV Kediri, meanwhile, planned to air Opera Tan Malaka from Jan. 9 to Jan. 16, but was forced to cancel it because of a similar call by local police officers and others from the local military district command.