Explanation from the Director General of Immigration regarding the Banning of Tyo Nugros who Cancelled the Performance with Dewa 19 in Malaysia

Tyo Nugros (Instagram @realnugros)

JAKARTA - The incident of censorship that made Tyo Nugros unable to participate in a concert in Malaysia triggered questions from Dewa 19 management.

As is known, due to the blockage at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tyo failed to leave for Malaysia to enliven the Dewa 19 concert held at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, last weekend.

Regarding the incident, the Director General of Immigration, Hendarsam Marantoko, admitted that he had been contacted directly by the leader of Dewa 19, Ahmad Dhani, who questioned the status of the drummer's prevention.

Hendarsam admitted that he immediately instructed his staff to validate data in the field to avoid identity errors.

"So I checked, because I was worried there would be a name similarity. I contacted the Directorate officer at Soekarno-Hatta, then the Directorate officer confirmed and checked that it was true," said Hendarsam.

Based on the results of the immigration system verification, Tyo Nugros' name is validly listed in the data for the ban. As a result, airport officials firmly rejected the departure process of the drummer even though all the administrative travel documents and documents were complete.

Hendarsam revealed that the status of the determination was issued not at the initiative of the immigration, but at the official request of the State Property and Auction Office (KPKNL). He said that his institution's position was only acting as an executor of administrative policies from other authorized state institutions.

"Regarding what the problem is, it was asked to KPKNL. But, to our knowledge, the person concerned is related to one of the companies that is a debtor of KPKNL. So, more or less like that," he added.

Furthermore, Hendarsam explained that the recovery of status or the revocation of the status is entirely the authority of the applicant institution. The immigration has no right to remove someone's name from the status list without further official instructions from the relevant agency.

"We as technical executors, whenever there is a request from the relevant ministries or agencies that submit a check, we put it on the check list. However, regarding the revocation or not, or the continued maintenance of the check, it depends on the relevant ministries or agencies," said Hendarsam.

The absence of Tyo Nugros forced Dewa 19 to think on his feet and make a sudden formation change upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur.

In order to save the show, the position of drummer was finally taken over by Ahmad Dhani's eldest son, Al Ghazali.

Even though the preparation time was very short, Al Ghazali's performance successfully shook the stage. The Dewa 19 concert in Malaysia went smoothly and received appreciation and a warm welcome from thousands of Baladewa who filled the arena.