36 of the Seribu islands on offer for casinos

36 of the Seribu islands on offer for casinos

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

City administration officials are currently offering 36
unpopulated islands in Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand islands)
regency to investors for the development of casinos.

"We have 36 islands available, which are now uninhabited, for
investors to develop casinos," City Administration Spokesman,
Muhayat said, while adding that the islands were in the northern
portion of the regency, but he declined to name them.

He said that the islands were among 45 previously unpopulated
islands, which were owned or managed by private companies and
businesspeople. There are a total of 110 islands in Seribu
regency, which was declared by Governor Sutiyoso as a new regency
within Jakarta D.K.I. province last November.

He said that nine of those 45 islands had been developed as
resorts, while the remaining 36 were either empty or used for
private purposes, although their permits were for tourism.

The islands on offer for the casinos may include Laki,
Pelangi, East Kotok, West Kotok, Sepa, Melintang, Karang Kudus,
Tongkeng and Opak Besar. They can be reached by speed boat in one
hour from Marina beach in Ancol, North Jakarta.

Another island that could be on offer is Panjang island, which
has a landing strip for light planes and helicopters.

Separately, the Indonesian Entertainment Business Association
(Aspehindo) secretary Adrian Mahulete welcomed City Governor
Sutiyoso's idea to establish gambling activities in the Thousand
islands.

"Our association officially suggested the plan for gambling
activities on Jan. 25, this year to the Governor," Adrian told
reporters last Friday.

He agreed that gambling was something that people always had
enjoyed and would continue to do so, but by developing a small
area that was controlled and regulated, the authorities would be
able to prevent much of the illegal gambling that took place all
over the city at present.

He claimed that he did not know which company or government
agency would manage the casinos on the islands, but admitted that
many investors had expressed interest.

"The city administration would receive substantial revenues
from legal casinos. It would be useful for city development,"
Adrian said.

Illegal gambling dens can be found in many places throughout
the city, such as along Jl. Gajah Mada and Hayam Wuruk in West
Jakarta. Some of the establishments call themselves "amusement
centers".

One large "amusement center" in the Glodok area has a
restaurant in front as a cover for the gambling area of its
building, and reportedly pays "contributions" of Rp 30 million a
day to city officials to look the other way and allow it operate.

Governor Sutiyoso reiterated last Friday his readiness to
endorse the legal gambling areas, if general agreement could
reached, and it did not violate any existing regulations.

"If people agree that the gambling should be allowed and
regulated on the islands, then I would facilitate it," Sutiyoso
told reporters.

He justified the gambling by saying that Malaysia, also an
Islamic country, faced similar problems with gambling and then
decided to legalize it in the Genting Highlands, and it had
proved successful.

He said that several city officers and councillors had visited
Genting Highlands for "research purposes".

Sutiyoso's idea has been supported by City Council chairman
Edy Waluyo and several political parties, including the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the largest in the city
legislature.

Several minor parties, especially two devout Islamic parties,
the Justice Party and the Crescent and Star Party, rejected the
idea.

Kepulauan Seribu Regent K. Abdul Kadir revealed last Wednesday
that a foundation has proposed to manage a casino on the islands,
but he declined to mention the name of the foundation.

Kadir said the gamblers would be required to be a card-
carrying member of a gambling association, and would also have to
pay a deposit of Rp 10 million (US$1,000) each time they went to
any casino, and in this way the city would be able to regulate
the gamblers.

He claimed the local residents of the regency -- about 17,000
people -- had been informed of the possibility of the casinos,
and they had accepted it, although it was not clear how that
acceptance was communicated as neither a survey nor a referendum
was conducted.