Indonesian media representatives are disappointed with the poor treatment they received when covering Malaysian pop diva Siti Nurhaliza's wedding.

Trans TV Producer Herny Mulyani's dissatisfaction stemmed from being forbidden to enter the prayer hall where the engagement and the solemnisation of the marriage ceremonies were held.

She said the organiser should consider this as the foreign media came from far just to report the event for the singer's fans in Indonesia.

"I am a bit disappointed with the organisation of the ceremony. They should appoint an event organiser who knows how the media works.

"We understand the privacy but it should have been more organised," she told Bernama after the ceremony yesterday.

Only media representatives with invitation cards were allowed into the hall, while photographers were not allowed at all as pictures would be provided by organisers Ace Management Sdn Bhd and Siti Nurhaliza Production.

Household name

The "Informasi Selebriti" programme Associate Producer said Siti was a household name in Indonesia, and her image should be well portrayed to her large number of fans in the republic.

She said an entourage of 15 Indonesian media representatives, six from electronics and nine from print including Jawa Post and magazines like Kartini , Nyata , Bintang Indonesia and Nova , arrived in Malaysia on Sunday to cover the wedding.

Aroz Hadi from SCTV Station said that the technical aspects like audio system were also poor, and had somewhat affected the flow of the ceremony.

"Overall, the ceremony is fine but the technical aspects and the manner the media was controlled are slightly poor. Interview sessions are also difficult as this can only be made with family members and not with the groom," he added.

The media could not talk to Siti's husband, Khalid Mohamad Jiwa, until the businessman was ambushed before he could get into his car at 2.10 pm, five minutes after Siti left the mosque.

More than 100 local and foreign media representatives had been given the opportunity earlier to interview Siti at the mosque's Community Hall.

A total of 50 TV3 production crew members were also involved in the event that was telecast live from 10.30 am to 12pm. It was attended by more than 1,000 people.

Jawa Post entertainment journalist Ari Yanti said she was flown in from Surabaya by her company to cover the ceremony which attracted a lot of people in Indonesia.

"Response towards Siti is extraordinary in Indonesia," said Anggun magazine photographer Gandi Purwandi.