IT was the week of going gaga in Jakarta. Lady Gaga, to be precise.
In what was perhaps a shrewd effort to win the support of Western cultural conservatives on purely aesthetic grounds, Islamic activists campaigned against a planned concert by the American singer in Jakarta on June 3.
All jokes aside, and notwithstanding the extreme frugality of Lady Gaga's musical virtuosity, the issue has become an important test of freedom of expression in modern Indonesia.
At time of writing, it was not still absolutely clear whether the Gaga extravaganza, for which 50,000 tickets have already been sold, will go ahead. Some of the groups which objected to her coming to Jakarta were mainstream and respectable, such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). The PKS is an Islamic party but is part of the governing coalition of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, holds several national ministries and has no history of violence or illegality.
But some of the groups objecting are much more unsavoury, chief among them the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which threatened to disrupt the Lady Gaga concert with violent demonstrations or even to physically prevent her leaving Jakarta airport. The FPI has a long history of murderous sectarian violence. They are regarded as thugs for hire and frequently intimidate non-Muslims as well as Muslims they regard as heterodox.
The Jakarta police decided not to recommend to the National Police that a permit be issued for the Gaga concert.
This, they said, was in part because she "indulges in revealing her body, dancing erotically and spreading pornography".
This is the first time the authorities have refused permission for an international singer to perform in Indonesia. The decision was widely criticised. The secular, nationalist PDI-P party criticised the police for effectively taking the side of the FPI. The highly respected liberal newspaper, The Jakarta Post, was scathing in its editorial criticism of the decision.
This was especially because it follows controversy over the visit of Canadian feminist Muslim writer, Irshad Manji. She argues for a liberal interpretation of the Koran and is highly critical of dominant Islamic practices and interpretations. Several of her public events were disrupted and one university cancelled a scheduled event she was to speak at.
The Gaga and Manji controversies, following on so closely, led The Jakarta Post to editorialise: "For the last several years, a dangerous standard procedure has developed that has led the police to allow the disruption of talks, art events and now a concert, either because they are protecting and serving a violent minority interest or because they are adopting a hands-off policy instead of providing security to all citizens."
But, and it's a hugely important but, it would be wrong to characterise Indonesia by the reaction of the intolerant groups who don't want Manji to speak or Lady Gaga to sing.
The day after Manji was prevented from speaking at a university, the Association for Independent Journalists held a meeting for her. This meeting was protected by volunteers from Nadhlatal Ulama, Indonesia's, and indeed the world's, largest Muslim organisation. NU has an exemplary record of interfaith dialogue and tolerance. Under such guards, this event was undisturbed.
Similarly, Manji appeared on television and a long, sympathetic interview of her was run in Tempo, Indonesia's most influential newsmagazine. And so the question is, what is the real trend in Indonesia? Is the society becoming more intolerant, or are the intolerant just becoming more vocal?
A week in Jakarta convinced me of two things. Many Indonesians are disturbed by the reticence of the police in dealing with mobs that claim Islamist inspiration. And the other is that it is exceptionally difficult to work out the trend line in Indonesia, because the society is so big and so diverse, and there are so many contrary indicators.
With a group of visiting Australian editors, I had a long discussion with Fauzi Bowo, Jakarta's Governor. He brimmed with plans to develop the city, address its traffic and other infrastructure problems, but seemed reluctant to discuss the Gaga controversy.
But when asked directly whether she should be allowed to perform, he said: "I think it's OK (for her to perform)," which placed him on the liberal side of the issue, but not very strongly. He also said he did not think that extremist groups were growing in Jakarta.
Beyond the Lady Gaga kerfuffle, there is a big debate about the lack of firm police response to FPI and other vigilante-style activities. Kemal Stamboel, a leading politician from the PKS, was clear in his opposition to vigilante-style behaviour, but told me: "I'm disappointed that this is allowed to happen. It's a police matter. If they were firm it would not happen. In some of these issues the vigilante groups do what the police should be doing, such as stopping alcohol sales to youngsters. I would say vigilantism is declining. But we have a free press, so we hear more of it today." These views are highly contested.
Along with the other visiting Australian editors, I interviewed Armida Salsiah Alisjhabana, the Minister for National Development Planning.
She is a high-powered economist who reminded me of just how fast Indonesia is developing, notwithstanding all its problems.
She reminded me that the country's per-capita income today is more than $3500.
On the parity purchasing power measure, which I always regard as a bit loopy but which is nonetheless widely used, its per-capita income is nearer to $5000. This places Indonesia squarely in the ranks of middle-income nations. Inflation is below 4 per cent, and by 2025 Armida hopes that Indonesia will have a per-capita income of $16,000.
As Greg Moriarty, Australia's ambassador to Indonesia, pointed out in a speech this week, Indonesia will, within a very few years, join the 15 leading economies of the world, which are a trillion dollars or bigger. Moriarty reported the forecasts that put Indonesia among the world's 10 biggest economies by the end of the decade. This represents enormous opportunity for Australia. It is a huge market with a burgeoning middle class that will want food, resources and sophisticated services, all of which Australia is well positioned to supply.
But Indonesia then will also be a much more powerful and much more self-confident nation, and this too will provide its share of challenges for Australia.
Indonesia's economic growth rate, this year and last, is about 6.5 per cent, one of the highest in the world. Vice-President Boediono, a veteran economic policymaker, in a long discussion in his Jakarta office, told me and some other Australian editors: "I am not satisfied with a 6-plus growth rate for indonesia. A growth rate of 7 or 8 per cent should be our potential. And it's what we need.
"The greatest risk at the moment is Europe, what's happening there. But aside from the global situation there is still room for growth in Indonesia. The first priority for us is to speed up infrastructure plans. We need to manage the big projects one by one: the port in Jakarta, regional airports, a double-track railway connecting Jakarta and Surabaya."
Boediono, who certainly does not ignore or whitewash problems, points to record investment this year in Indonesia as a sign of the development to come.
Nor does he dodge questions about corruption. He says: "Corruption cases have been increasing in the past few years. My view is that this reflects more openness with regard to how to deal with corruption. A number of them involve very high officials. We need, I think, openness and great efforts by the anti-corruption commission. I think it's a good trend rather than a bad trend to see more of these cases exposed. In a few years we will see a better situation."
Boediono has been at the core of solid economic policy for Indonesia for many years. He is part of a cadre of dedicated leaders and technocrats determined to push Indonesia forward. The fracas over Lady Gaga is unbecoming. The treatment of Manji was sometimes poor and sometimes good. Indonesia is a land of many contradictions, as you'd expect from such a big, diverse, sprawling, raucous nation.
It may well be Asia's next dragon. Australia had better pay attention.