Netizens gain reprieve for ‘dancing cop’

First Brig. Norman Kamaru of the Gorontalo Mobile Brigade shot to internet stardom when a video of him in his police uniform, lip-synching to ‘Chaiyya-Chaiyya’ by Indian movie star Sahrukh Khan, was posted on YouTube.

Apart from over 164,000 views on YouTube the video attracted over two million clicks on Yahoo Indonesia’s homepage.

Titled ‘Gorontalo police goes crazy,’ the video received 913,000 clicks, 49,000 Facebook shares, 528 retweets, and 12,555 comments on Yahoo Indonesia.

Gorontalo Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Wilson Damanik had said the police would investigate why he had uploaded the video on YouTube and would impose administrative sanctions on him.
 
The plan to punish him sparked outcry from social media users, with the creation of Facebook page ‘Support First. Brig. Norman Kamaru express himself’ and Twitter users defending him under the hash tag #BriptuNorman.

This week has seen him perform on several television stations in Jakarta, and he has already begun practicing at a Central Jakarta recording studio for his first single. But he is set to return to his post.

“It’s been almost a week that he’s here now and he’s scheduled to return to his base in Gorontalo on Friday. He won’t be posted in Jakarta anytime soon,” said National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam.

Norman is known for his love of Bollywood movies and music and was asked to entertain his colleagues as a ‘punishment’. This in turn received 814, 000 clicks, 9120 FB shares, 179 retweets, and 2,998 comments.

Commenting on content driving discussion and deabte, Alan Soon, managing editor at Yahoo Southeast Asia, said that conversations have always been part of the internet experience.

"Our approach is however different in that we make it our goal to drive compelling conversations by wrapping them around content. We want to build a unique experience so that people come to Yahoo to find out what other people are saying about the issues that matter to them. Marketers can use this by focusing on building the conversations around the brands -- and not of the brands themselves. It's all about creating the right context so that users breath life into the brand," said Soon.