Lady Gaga cancels Indonesia gig

Lady Gaga is abandoning her sold-out show in Jakarta after Muslim hardliners threatened action if the pop diva went ahead with her ‘Born This Way Ball’.

Protesters said Lady Gaga’s sexy clothes and provocative dance moves would corrupt youth, while police said they would only issue the required permits if she agreed to tone things down.

“With threats if the concert goes ahead, Lady Gaga’s side is calling off the concert,” Minola Sebayang, a lawyer for concert promoter Big Daddy, said yesterday.

“This is not only about Lady Gaga’s security but those who will be watching her.”

Jakarta was supposed to be the biggest stop on Lady Gaga’s Asian tour, with 52,000 tickets scooped up in just a few days. Fans will be fully refunded, said Michael Rusli, head of Big Daddy.

The Islamic Defenders Front, which threatened to meet Lady Gaga with tens of thousands of angry supporters if she dared step off the plane in Jakarta, celebrated news of her cancellation.

“This is a victory for Indonesian Muslims,” said Salim Alatas, one of the leaders of the hardline group.

Ninety per cent of Indonesia’s 240 million population is Muslim.

And a small, extremist fringe, has gotten more vocal, and violent, in recent years. Fans were disappointed by the cancellation, including 25-year-old Johnny Purba, who said: "This only shows to the world how weak security forces are in this country, how police are afraid of a bunch of hardliners.”

He added: “Gaga’s two-hour show will not hurt any Indonesian Muslims... she is not a terrorist!"