Police set to issue permit for La Toya performances
Police set to issue permit for La Toya performances
JAKARTA (JP): National Police deputy chief in charge of operational affairs Maj. Gen. M.B. Hutagalung said yesterday that police would "most likely" grant a permit for performances in Indonesia by American singer La Toya Jackson.
Answering questions from reporters as to whether the police would issue a permit for the La Toya shows, Hutagalung said, "Yes, most likely." But he added, that so far police have yet to receive the organizers' application for a permit of the shows.
He said police have not received any objections from the ruling political group, Golkar, about the planned shows as well.
La Toya Jackson is scheduled to perform in Jakarta on May 26, Bandung on May 27 and Surabaya on May 29. The performances are being sponsored by Buena Produktama.
La Toya's planned performances, however, are under threat of cancellation after Golkar urged the police not to grant a permit for the performances on the grounds that her attitudes are at odds with the local culture.
Golkar's chairperson for the Culture and Art Department, Ais Anantama Said, had asked police to reject the application for a permit for performances by La Toya because her controversial actions, including posing nude in Playboy magazine and publishing a wicked story about her family, were hard to accept in Indonesia.
Ais said that his decision was also based on the fact that La Toya, a sister of Michael and Janet Jackson, was not a singer of international quality.
Director of Buena Produktama, Peter Basuki, said that he had applied for permits for La Toya's performances from the Entertainment Evaluating Committee and City Police, adding that both had given the green light.
He said that he would lose over Rp 120 million (US$56,000) if La Toya's performances in Indonesia were canceled.
"Well, it is really difficult if politics is involved in show business," Basuki complained.
In a related development, chairman of the Golkar faction at the House of Representatives, A. Moestahid, said yesterday that the Entertainment Evaluating Committee should be very selective in permitting musical performances by foreign artists in Indonesia.
He concurred with Ais, saying that the American artist should be banned from performing in the country because her lifestyle is not in conformity with the local culture. (29/bas)