A waterfront entertainment and resort complex in Indonesia, Ancol Dreamland, situated in Ancol Bay City of Jakarta, is in the news recently for a controversial move it adopted.
The hotel administration has come to the conclusion to cover two nude mermaid statues with the bronze garments; the gesture claiming to transform the park into a more “family friendly” one.
Declaring to make the park appropriate and appealing to families, the hotel authorities have allegedly endorsed the decision to adhere to Eastern values. However, criticisms and confusion from all over the country has aroused ever since the statues introduced more than 15 years ago, have been deprived of its artistic beauty.
The hotel authorities announced the decision to be its own and not influenced by any external pressure. The original sculptor, Dolorosa Sinaga himself was unaware of the modification.
One of the spokeswoman of the firm that partially owns the park, Rika Lestari, shared in a statement, “We are in the process of reshaping ourselves to be a family-friendly amusement park.”
The alteration is brought about to make the statues to make look better, defended the hotel officials. However, controversies are building up as many believe that the decision was instigated by conservative groups. Being the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia generally accounts to relatively conservative social valued policies.
The garment bound statues have been moved to a more secluded place since the gesture was broadly not welcomed by the guests and many resorted to protesting against it.
It is unclear when the statues would adorn their original places within the resort, as the officials of Ancol Dreamland refuse to comment on this aspect.
