The Suzuki Cup: Laser Warfare? What Say You Julia Perez?

Football is important! In fact, to some it is so important that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to secure a victory for their side of choice. The extremes that some are willing to go crosses the line of fairness, sportsmanship, and fair play. One such instance is the recent Asian Football Federation Suzuki Cup Final (First Leg) between Indonesia and Malaysia.

This game was played in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia beat Indonesia 3-0. It is always a good thing to give credit where credit is due. However, if one side benefits from less than sporting assistance from their fans is credit really due?

Malaysian fans were permitted to brig laser pens into the stadium where the game was played. The fans wasted no time in making use of these lasers by shining them at, and into the eyes, of Indonesian players. To say it is distracting is an understatement. It is dangerous. If these people were to shine these lasers at aircraft they would be arrested and charged with serious criminal offenses, perhaps even terrorism. They are an embarrassment to themselves and their country. Is it cheating?

Soccer is just a game. It is great that people are passionate about their sport and the teams that they follow. It is, however, just a game.

However, the response from Julia Perez takes the cake. I am not a fan of her singing or her dancing, but I am a fan of her ability to take what skills, and "attributes", she does have and turn them into a successful career as an entertainer and one-time political candidate.

Perez reckons that there is no need for lasers in the return leg. Rather she is going to dazzle and blind the Malaysian team with her most ample of assets, her breasts. Apparently, stripping down to her bra and knickers is probably enough. Although, I would hazard a guess that a die-hard fan like Ms. Perez might be willing to go the full monty and give her Malaysian fans a full-frontal show if it meant Indonesia winning 4-0 and taking the Suzuki Cup.

Better still though would be a bra and panties-clad Perez will strategically placed lasers that she could direct at those Malaysian footballers staring at her naughty bits, where they would not only get an eye-full of what they were expecting, but also an eye-full of very bright, and distracting, red light!

Viva Julia Perez and Viva Indonesian football!

Dewi Persik vs. Julia Perez...

It was bound to happen, two starlets seeking to stoke their own egos in the world of film getting into a good old cat fight and then moving to the courtroom for a real ding dong drawn out battle. So, there we have it. Dewi Persik and Julia Perez came to blows on the set of the film Arwah Goyang Karawang (although I did read somewhere that it was Kerawang).

I would reckon that there would be plenty of people who would have stumped up more than the price of a film ticket to see these two go at it. Perhaps the only thing that could have made this more interesting would have been skimpy bikinis and a kiddies pool full of mud or jelly. After all, the complaint is one that is based on a little push and shove.

I was not surprised to see that Ahmad Dhani was involved. I guess it makes sense seeing he is the manager of Dewi Persik. Besides the man is a media hound, at least in the sense that he will be part of almost anything and say just about anything to see his name in the media.

In the meantime, thanks girls. This provides the perfect cover for posting pictures of you both in all your glory.

Dewi Persik

vs.

Julia Perez (aka Jupe)

 The photo-shopped version of the same photo...take your pick!

Julia Perez -- Too Bad!

It is too bad that Julia Perez opted out of a political career. Just imagine where her political posters and advertising might have gone to from here! First, Pacitan, and then the World!

When it is all said and done she could not be doing any worse than the majority of elected politicians to date!

Julia Perez Drops Out -- Drop Out?

I am disappointed to read that Julia Perez's candidacy was nothing more than a well-orchestrated scam to get publicity for her personally and the shows and films that she is involved with. I still think she would have been a breath of fresh air with respect to shaking up the establishment.

She might have been a good politician or she might have been a complete non-event, but that was not really the point, was it? The point was clearly to show that government really is of the people, by the people, and for the people.

If more professional politicians realised this then the places they govern would be much better places in which to live. The Labor Party of Australia found that out in a most devastating fashion yesterday. Even more devastating for them considering they were a very popular government when elected and in their first term. The moral of the story is if you play with fire then, sooner or later, you will get burned. The public can only tolerate so much and then they will lash out at the ballot box (if they live in a country where they can do so).

Then again, the Jupe dropping out story might have more to do with a disputed high school certificate than it does with a cynical and risky public relations stunt. If I was a Jupe fan, I would be a little upset that the support that I though I was giving her for a run at higher office was a charade. By all accounts, the Perez candidacy was never likely to happen despite being constantly talked up by the prospective candidate as she never got around to submitting the necessary paperwork to the authorities as part of the standard vetting procedures for candidates and prospective heads of regions.

Nevertheless, the plan is to replace Jupe with another celebrity candidate. The names of Desy Ratnasari, Krisdayanti, and Denada among a few others have been touted as possible alternates. This says that it is an election destined to be based on celebrity rather than substance.

If nothing else, the candidacy has been good for the odd Jupe post and the obligatory images of her in various states of sexiness.

Ho hum...

Julia Perez and the New York Times...

For a political candidate with no political experience and a reputation for controversy Julia Perez has certainly quickly mastered the art of using the media. Here is a young woman who's primary claim to fame involves being in touch with her femininity, sexuality, and sexiness who has managed to captivate a nation and seemingly the world into a race in a small town in rural Java.

It is an interesting aside that she is running for elected office in the town that the current president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, hails from, but that's all it is, an aside.

The more intriguing issues were an attempt to introduce "moral" standards that candidates would have to meet in order to be able to nominate and stand for public office. This was designed with Julia Perez (or Jupe) in mind. It has come and gone, and is now well and truly off the radar for the present time. It is probably a good thing for many others other than Julia Perez because there are quite a few politicians that would conceivably have moral issues that would otherwise exclude them from public office (no need to name names, is there?).

There are those that doubt the legitimacy of Perez's candidacy and her ability to do the job as they would rather focus on the presumption that Ms. Perez is being exploited by shrewd political operators in an effort to embarrass the president and to exacerbate the divide between Indonesians of a more moderate and pluralistic view and those who adopt more fundamental and hardline approaches.

However, no one seems to be canvassing the idea that the person doing the exploiting is Ms. Perez herself. Maybe it is Perez that is exploiting the opportunity and the offers to run for office are just the opportunity she has been looking for.

Let's face it; win, lose, or draw in the election, she has won on a bigger scale in that she will now have expanded her base into places she might otherwise never have been able to. How many seriously experienced Indonesian politicians can claim recent stories on CNN and now in the New York Times.

It should be remembered that even though she has little or no political experience of consequence, she does have plenty of social activism related experience as a spokesperson on a number of issues relating to sexual health, among others. This might in fact be more "experience" than some current politicians had when they were elected to office in the present term.

Democracy is a beautiful thing. This time it seems that democracy Jupe style is a lot better looking than what the opposition has to offer.

One final note (and an admission), I am glad that she is running because it is a good excuse to go through my collection of Jupe photos and post them in the relevant blog posts. Enjoy (all these photos are freely available on the Internet, you can search for them and more if you need to).

Ho hum...

Julia Perez on CNN...

Julia Perez and CNN in the same sentence conjures up the images of another celebrity sex scandal. However, in this instance CNN Go have interviewed Julia Perez not about her reputation as a sex siren, but rather her politics and her work on issues such as sex education and safe sex.

Yet, it was the lead in that piques the interest in reading all the way through; she wants to be "just like Obama". The interview in and of itself does not tell me much about her that I did not already know. Nevertheless, it might be surprising to some as she comes across as reasonably articulate and knowledgeable on the issues that she seemingly cares about. I am yet to be convinced that she has what it takes to be just like Obama or even Evita Peron, but perhaps time will tell.

Perez is currently running for the Deputy District Chief position in Pacitan. Sometimes elections in Indonesia are run more like popularity contests rather than choices between differing political philosophies. So, it will be interesting to see how Perez goes. To this end, it would seem that much of her political platform is going to be based on fighting corruption which she sees as a much more important issue than the 'porn' stuff that currently occupies much of the government's time.

If nothing else, a post on Julia Perez or Jupe lets me post a picture of her to accompany the text that perhaps no one will read as they probably have not gone beyond the picture.

Ho hum...

Julia Perez and Democracy in Indonesia...

It would seem that the Minister of Home Affairs, Gamawan Fauzi, indicated that the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was going to amend the eligibility criteria for prospective candidates for political office. Generally, these amendments are thought to include provisions that would stipulate that candidates have certain levels of practical political experience before being nominated.

Indonesia has had, and currently has, quite a number of celebrities make the move from celebrity to politician. Some have done better than others. However, this post is not a critique of each celebrities performance as a politician, but rather to pose the question; "does amending the laws in this way amount to an attack on democracy and the right of individuals to run for office?"

Julia Perez thinks that it is. Most Indonesian media is reporting the story and Ms. Perez has been quite vocal in stating that she believes that the proposed amendments are designed to thwart her bid for public office. The government in contrast say that the rationale is more general in its undertaking; politics is not a popularity contest. Therefore, candidates need to have real and practical political skills if they are going to assume office and be successful.

The reality is that not everyone with political experience will make a good candidate. In any event, it might be worth pondering how one goes about getting political experience if they are never allowed to run for office because they do not have any political experience in order to be nominated. A vicious circle of the chicken and egg kind.

In a democracy you get what you vote for, but this would seemingly be premised on having choices in who you can vote for. However, amending the laws and regulations to stipulate certain "professional experience" levels before one can be nominated and a chance at being elected clearly suggests that the government is seeking to limit the choices that voters have, which appears to be most undemocratic for a President, a government, and a country who prides themselves on the leaps and bounds they have made towards full-scale democracy.

Even if I had the choice, I probably would not vote for Julia Perez. Then again, it depends on what policies she has and how she articulates them. And, most importantly, whether she articulates them in such a way that I believe she can achieve the outcomes that she promises. But, I believe that she has, and must always have, the right to run for public office if she so desires. Let the people decide!

Interesting times!

Kidnapping Julia?

Now that it seems Maria Ozawa (aka Miyabi) has pulled the plug on coming to Indonesia to play the lead role in the film "Kidnapping Miyabi" out of fear for her life, or perhaps it's just because she cannot be bothered to go toe-to-toe with the Indonesian Ulama Council (Majelis Ulema Indonesia / MUI) or Islam Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam / FPI). Either way, the Japanese porn star that was looking to expand her portfolio of film work into the comedy genre, Maria is now history.

So, rather than write the concept off altogether perhaps the people at Maxima Productions can come to an arrangement with a suitable Indonesian replacement. Perhaps this might be a series of suggestions of possible "stars" to take on the role that was to formerly be played by Miyabi.

It would seem that the MUI and the FPI could not possibly have a problem with a local starlet taking the lead role in an Indonesian comedy. Furthermore, it would seem that the relevant Minister would not be able to make up some lame excuse that might prevent Julia from getting a visa. Although, stranger things have happened. The film, being a comedy and all, should not run foul of the relevant authorities that are now tasked with ensuring that all Indonesian film meet exacting moral and educational standards.

First cab off the rank, so to speak, is Julia Perez. Ms. Perez has quite a following in Indonesia. At least she does in my anecdotal studies on the issue. She might not be a porn star of the magnitude of Miyabi, but nonetheless she does have the image of being a bit of a sexy rebel (unfortunately this is usually without a cause). Simply, suggestion one; "Kidnapping Julia".

I think it is a surefire hit. Just so you can see why, I have included a few "promotional" shots (all pictures freely available on the internet).

Suggestion two...stay tuned! I am thinking Jade Marcella...

Julia Perez Blacklisted by the MUI

The Head of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) in Pekanbaru, Ilyas Husti, has decided that the MUI needed to issue a letter rejecting the visit of Julia Perez (aka Jupe) from visiting the city, and he has done just that.

Since when has the MUI been the arbiter of travel in Indonesia and since when have they had the power to ban the travel of private citizens? Furthermore, since when has the MUI had the power to regulate who political parties or any other organization invite to perform at the functions of these organizations?

The MUI really needs to pull its head out of the sand before it gets the communal backlash boot in the arse. This is the same sort of thing you would expect to see from fundamental Muslim elements who deem themselves as arbiters of what is entertainment. I always thought that the MUI liked to consider itself a moderate organization.

A recent example from Indonesia's near neighbours in Malaysia saw an Islamic student organization seeking a ban on Indonesia's "queen of the drill", Inul. Let's face it, both Indonesia and Malaysia have much bigger problems than a little hip wiggling at a political rally or a concert.

The overall expectation was that Jupe would participate in the celebrations that have been planned for Independence Day on 17 August. Independence Day in any country is an important day, one where the freedoms that independence have brought are celebrated by the masses. It is a time to let down the collective hair and enjoy being free. Unfortunately, for the citizens of Pekanbaru, the MUI seems determined to rain on this parade.

The problem seems to be that Jupe's reputation as a bit of a sex symbol proceeds her and the MUI is concerned that this image will get all the local lad's hormones raging and perhaps a bunch of testosterone engorged teenagers will lose the plot. Jupe is a bit of a sensationalist and panders to that image. Her most recent claim to fame involved the packaging of condoms with her latest album release. Considering, the heightened risk of HIV / AIDS in Indonesia, perhaps Jupe should be praised for her convictions rather than blacklisted for them.

Now is a time to celebrate Indonesia's rich cultural and ethnic diversity and not to curtail it. It is sad that the MUI cannot see this simple truth, that sometimes people just need to have fun!