By NORIMITSU ONISHI

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Julia Perez took no notice of the passers-by in a mall recently who found confirmation in her tight-fitting, low-cut dress that it was indeed the singer, actress, model ? and soon, perhaps, politician. Her overt use of sex appeal has won her legions of fans in Indonesia but also condemnation from social conservatives.

The next day, though, Ms. Perez needed a traditional dress. The traditional ruler of a city in central Java was conferring a title on her, she explained. “Et voila!” said Ms. Perez, who tends to speak in a mix of Indonesian, English and French.

“It’s a big honor for me.” Since returning to Indonesia three years ago , Ms. Perez, 30, better known as Jupe , has quickly become one of this nation’s most sought-after celebrities. In a society increasingly polarized between supporters of political Islam and Western-style openness, Ms. Perez has led the charge one way with her sexy shows and music videos, and her frank talk about sex.

Ms. Perez was rebuked recently after announcing her candidacy in a local election in December in Pacitan, a town in east Java that also happens to be the hometown of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Officials proposed changing regional election laws to forbid candidates with “moral flaws” from running.

But critics counter- attacked, pointing out that Indonesian politicians are hardly known for their ethics. Ms. Perez has no prior political experience and says that if elected, she simply wants to improve the lives of ordinary people. “Maybe 30 percent of the people feel this is a democracy,” she said . “So what if I’m sexy?” Ms. Perez said. “You can still eat tomorrow if you see me and find me sexy.

But if I steal your money, tomorrow you cannot eat and tomorrow you cannot go to school and tomorrow you’ll be a hopeless man.” Born here as Yuli Rachmawati, she grew up in a household led by a single mother. The family often ate only rice with fried shallots. “Finding enough to eat was our only dream,” she said. She befriended a slightly older Indonesian woman as she was about to finish high school.


The woman offered to send Ms. Perez to secretarial school. She went to work as a junior secretary at a Dutch-owned furniture company here and began dating the owner’s son. She went with him to Holland, where she lived for three years, eventually drifting away from him. On a vacation in Spain, Ms. Perez met her future husband, a Frenchman who gave her his surname, took her to France and introduced her to the fashion business. She soon appeared in men’s magazines .

Back here for a vacation in 2006, in a newly democratic Indonesia, she found artists pushing previously rigid boundaries of sexuality in pop culture, even as increasingly powerful Islamic groups were advancing a strict version of Islam . Ms. Perez, who is Muslim, soon found herself deluged with offers. She left her husband behind in France in 2007 and the couple divorced later.

A few months ago, though, political leaders from the town of Pacitan arrived unexpectedly with an invitation to run as the district’s deputy leader. Sutikno, the local head of Hanura, an opposition party, said that his party and a coalition of others were searching for a celebrity to attract investors to the region. “She’s honest about who she is,” said Mr. Sutikno, who uses one name like many Indonesians. “We don’t care if she’s a sex bomb.” Some were skeptical of the choice.

Ms. Perez said she was still learning about politics. “It really makes me scared. I shouldn’t say this, but I’m confused. Some of them say, in front of me, ‘Yeah, this is right, Julia.’ But afterward, behind my back, they say the next day, ‘No, that’s not good.’ You understand what I mean?” she said. “Peut-etre c’est ca la politique,” she said. “Maybe that’s politics.”