Bars, cafes may open during Ramadhan

Bars, cafes may open during Ramadhan

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Entertainment centers are allowed to operate during the
fasting month of Ramadhan, but operators were cautious on
Saturday amid fear of possible raids from hard-line groups.

Deputy governor for administrative affairs Abdul Kahfi said on
Friday that the centers were allowed to open from the end of
Tarawih evening prayer (about 8:30 p.m.) until the Sahur predawn
meal (about 3 a.m.).

"It's unfair if we urge them to close for the whole month. How
can their workers earn a living?" Kahfi told reporters at City
Hall, revealing the results of a meeting he held with operators
of entertainment centers and religious leaders on Thursday.

But he added that those centers should not operate on the
first day of Ramadhan or the 17th day of the month, which is
commemorated as Nuzulul Qur'an (The Revelation of Koran). They
should also be closed on the first and second days of Idul Fitri,
which would fall on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17.

There are over 1,200 places categorized as entertainment
centers in the city that would be subject to the regulation on
opening hours during Ramadhan, which is similar to last year's
rule. They include gaming centers, movie theaters, golf courses,
discotheques, karaoke houses, nightclubs, saunas, barbershops and
places offering live music.

Those located in hotels, however, are not included in the
list. Restaurants are also excluded.

Meanwhile, operators of entertainment centers were cautious
over people's reactions.

"We have not yet decided whether we will open or not during
Ramadhan because we still have to consider people's reactions," a
member of staff at Tanamur discotheque, Central Jakarta, who
requested anonymity, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He referred to possible raids by hard-line groups such as the
Islamic Defenders Front, who attacked a number of cafes here last
year.

He urged the administration to deploy public order officers
and cooperate with police to secure the amusement centers that
open during the fasting month.

Separately, a member of staff at Fashion Cafe, Evina, said the
cafe would remain open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. during the fasting
month.

"We will open as usual as we also serve non-Muslims. We have a
live band playing during that month," Evina told the Post.

On Friday, some 50 members of the Justice Youth Movement, a
youth wing of the Justice Party, staged a protest in front of
City Hall on Friday, demanding the closure of amusement centers
during Ramadhan. They threatened to forcibly close the centers if
they were allowed to open during the month of fasting.