'Dangdut' singer Inul is too hot for many Indonesia?

'Dangdut' singer Inul is too hot for many Indonesia?

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Over the past few weeks, up-and-coming female dangdut singer Inul
Daratista has sparked controversy for the way she gyrates on the
dance floor on TV.

Her latest two-hour show broadcast by a private television
station on Thursday was protested by the Indonesian Ulemas
Council (MUI) on Friday, saying the way she dances was not fit
for public viewing.

"It is none our business if it happens in a private place like
a karaoke hall, but we are concerned about her appearance on
television as many people can watch her," MUI chairman Amidhan
told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Apart from the controversy, Inul has emerged as a phenomenon.
Hers is the classic story of a nobody in the pop world who rises
to stardom.

Born on Jan. 21, 1979, the singer from the small village of
Gempol, Pasuruan in East Java, began to test the waters a few
years ago when VCDs of her performances were taken by an amateur
cameraman, who then circulated them in a number of Asian
countries, before they were released in Indonesia.

Following the foreign circulation of the VCDs, Inul's
popularity skyrocketed beyond her expectations.

"Up to now, I can't believe that people consider me a
phenomenon because of my dancing," said Inul, who started her
career first as a rock singer in the 1980s.

Inul was paid Rp 3,500 (US 40 cent) per show when she turned
to dangdut. She moved from one village to the next to perform.

In more recent times she claimed that her income had ballooned
to Rp 700 million ($78,500) per month, until tax officials
knocked on her door. Her manager quickly rectified the figure.

Amid boisterous cheers from her fans, religious leaders have
slammed her, calling her performances "immoral".

Religious leaders in East Java have also advised the singer to
change the way she dances. Yogyakarta administration has banned
her from performing in the province.

"A report of a man raping a girl after watching Inul dance is
evidence that the way she dances is not fit for public viewing,"
Amidhan said.

But not everyone looks at Inul in a bad light. A number of
private television stations consider her a gold mine that
attracts both advertisements and viewers.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband, Taufik Kiemas,
recently asked her to pose with him for a photo after the
shooting of his program at a television studio.

The photograph of Taufik and Inul could be seen on detik.com
internet newsportal, and further fueled controversy about her.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) has reportedly asked her to
be a lead campaigner for the party in the run-up to 2004
elections.

East Java, where Inul comes from, is one of PKB strongholds.

Budi Susanto, a researcher of cultural issues from the
Yogyakarta based-Realino Studies Institution (LSR), said that
because Inul was such a phenomenon, she was prone to public
controversy.

He said Inul could not be accused of immorality.

"Don't link a music performance to religion as the people who
watch the show don't think about religion when watching her
perform," Budi told the Post by phone from Yogyakarta.

"A figure like Inul always attracts many people, therefore I
am not surprised that a party wants to recruit her."

Controversy is likely to continue to surround Inul because the
MUI has categorized her dancing as haram, although Amidhan said
his organization would not issue an edict on Inul.

"We issued an edict on pornography on July 22 last year. Based
on our observation, Inul's dancing could be categorized as
pornography, but it is up to the people to form their own opinion
about the controversy," said Amidhan.