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Police consider toned-down Lady Gaga gig

Jakarta - Indonesian police said on Friday they were considering an offer from the promoters of an upcoming Lady Gaga show proposing to tone down the pop star's racy performance.

Jakarta police said last week it would not give the green-light to the 3 June show after Islamic hardliners threatened chaos if the star entered Indonesia, meaning she has so far been unable to obtain a permit to perform.

"We have received a document outlining an agreement by the promoters Big Daddy, which says Lady Gaga's concert will reflect Indonesian culture," Jakarta police spokesperson Rikwanto, who goes by one name, told AFP.

"We will evaluate it, and if we agree, we hope to sign it today (Friday) and forward it to the national police."

Skip shows before toning them down

Rikwanto said the agreement included rules obliging Lady Gaga to dress more modestly, and to tone down her lyrics and sexually-charged choreography.

The promoters of the performer's Born This Way Ball show in Jakarta had sold more than 50 000 tickets. They could not be immediately contacted to confirm they had sent an offer to police.

Lady Gaga on Tuesday said on her official Twitter account that if the show went ahead, she would perform "alone", meaning she would drop her dancers.

Her manager Troy Carter, however, said in Singapore on Thursday that the star would "not tone down any upcoming concerts", despite some objections in several Asian countries, including the Philippines and South Korea.

He said Lady Gaga would skip shows before toning them down, adding "it's a very specific show, it's a very specific audience".

Public backlash

The national police, which has the authority to issue the permit, said last week it would not grant Lady Gaga permission to perform without the Jakarta police's approval.

Several Islamic organisations opposed the concert, with the hardline Islamic Defenders Front vowing to round up 30 000 protestors if the performer tried to enter the country.

The police decision last week was met with a public backlash that authorities are buckling to hardliners.

It has also triggered debate among the country's leaders on foreign influences on Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, where 90% of its 240 million people identify as Muslim.

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