Camelia Pasandaran – The Indonesian government warned local promoters to be aware of the country's "traditions" and "culture" before inviting foreign entertainers to perform. The announcement came in the wake of police refusing on Tuesday to issue a permit for Lady Gaga's sold-out Jakarta concert, which was originally scheduled for June 3.
Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry spokesman I Gusti Ngurah Putra admitted in a phone interview on Tuesday that that his ministry originally approved Lady Gaga's Jakarta concert. But Putra said the ministry did not object to police refusing to issue the permit.
"Promoters must clearly understand our traditions, rules and cultures. They're professionals, they should have considered those things when making deals with artists and their managers," Putra said.
Putra also said people had expressed concerns over Gaga's "vulgar" outfits and stage performances, adding that his ministry was stringent in how they wanted the concert to be managed. "We've been drafting norms and criteria – guidelines not only for [Gaga's] concert, but also for other artists or art groups that want to perform here. We'll recommend their performances as long they're in line with Indonesia's culture. I think professionals must appreciate rules made by others, as long as [the rules] are clear," Putra said.
"[Performers] should wear unrevealing outfits – as for Lady Gaga, I've heard she would wear an Indonesian designer's product, but I'm not very well informed of the deal and its details," he added.
Putra emphasized that the authority to issue permits for concerts ultimately fell to the police, and not the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said on Tuesday that the National Police decided against issuing a permit for Lady Gaga's June 3 concert, following demands from some local hardline Islamist groups to cancel it.
The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) had threatened to dispatch 30,000 of its supporters to forcibly prevent Gaga from stepping off her plane when she landed in Indonesia.