40,000 Jakarta nightclub workers facing layoffs<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto and Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Workers in the entertainment industry are paying dearly for the
\ncurrent police campaign against drugs in cafes and amusement
\ncenters across the capital.<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Entertainment Center Owners
\n(Aspehindo) said on Monday that at least 40,000 workers of the
\nentertainment centers would have to be told to stay at home and
\nrisk losing their jobs should the police continue the current
\ndrug raids on night spots, such as discotheques, cafes and
\nkaraoke centers.<\/p>\n
Aspehindo chairman Adrian Maelite said that many owners of
\nentertainment centers have laid off workers in order to cut costs
\namid significantly lower business.<\/p>\n
\"Recent drug raids by the police have scared the customers
\naway. Some owners have decided to open only on weekends as a
\nresult of lower customer numbers, forcing them to lay off most of
\ntheir workers,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Should the police continue with their aggressive raids on
\nentertainment centers, there would be massive lay-offs in the
\nindustry within several weeks, he warned.<\/p>\n
\"In one or two weeks, entertainment center owners will have to
\nsend home 30 percent of their workers or more than 120,000
\npeople,\" he said.<\/p>\n
There are around 400,000 people working in entertainment
\ncenters in the city, mostly discotheques and karaoke centers,
\nwhich account for 60 percent of the total number of workers.<\/p>\n
Adrian said that the police drug raids had tarnished the image
\nof entertainment centers.<\/p>\n
\"We would call on the police to launch covert drug operations
\nso that they do not disturb our customers, instead of launching
\nblanket raids,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The police raids have been making the headlines recently as
\nseveral well-known people have been caught in the dragnet,
\nincluding former world boxing champion Ellyas Pical and film star
\nRia Irawan.<\/p>\n
Adrian questioned police's policy of focusing on nightspots,
\npointing to the low number of customers found to have consumed or
\nbe in possession of illegal drugs.<\/p>\n
He said that only 5 percent of the customers from whom urine
\nsamples had been taken had tested positive for drugs and that the
\npolice had discovered 190 ecstasy pills in three weeks of
\noperations, while no other illicit drugs, like heroin and
\nmarijuana, for example, had been found.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chief of Jakarta Police's drug squad, Sr. Comr.
\nCarlo Brix Tewu, emphasized that police would continue with the
\nraids.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue launching antidrug raids until nightspot
\nmanagements are willing to take part in the drive by making sure
\nthat their premises are free of drug abuse and drug dealing,\" he
\ntold the Post.<\/p>\n
He said that the managements of nightspots could take part in
\nthe antidrug campaign by putting up posters and announcements
\nstrictly prohibiting guests from carrying illicit drugs.<\/p>\n
In the three-week operation, he said, around 10,000 customers
\nwere examined, but only 1,300 were asked to undergo urine tests.<\/p>\n
\"We found 140 of the people whose urine samples were tested to
\nhave consumed drugs,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/40000-jakarta-nightclub-workers-facing-layoffs-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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