C. Java ulemas suggest centralized gambling den

SEMARANG (JP): The chairman of Central Java's Ulemas Council, Sahal Mahfud, has sparked controversy by suggesting that the government build a secluded gambling center on Nusakambangan penitentiary island.

Sahal, also deputy chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama's law-making board, said here recently that such a designated gambling area would prevent gambling from becoming more widespread.

The predominately Moslem Indonesia not only regards gambling as an activity forbidden by religion but also considers it a crime. Violators face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. This has prompted many Indonesians to gamble abroad.

Indonesia is also an alleged base of a syndicate implicated in a current bribery trial in England involving four former English soccer players and a Malaysian businessman.

"Such a centralization (of gambling) would protect people who do not like gambling. Hence, those who gamble or organize gambling dens outside the island must be severely punished," Sahal said.

Nusakambangan, a small island near Cilacap in the Indian Ocean, has been serving as a prison for hardcore criminals since 1900, when Indonesia was a Dutch colony.

Legal experts Satjipto Rahardjo and Muladi agreed to the idea of a concentration of gambling activities. The two argued separately that the idea could be implemented as a last resort to curb the illegal practices only after the authorities had given up on their attempts to rid the country of the crime.

"If we cannot eliminate gambling, it's better that we try to reduce it," said Satjipto, a professor at the Semarang-based Diponegoro University.

But government approval of centralizing gambling activities would appear to be a desperate decision, according to the academic.

If the plan is adopted, Satjipto said he was afraid the public might see it as the government sanctioning gambling. "This is a bitter choice on one hand. But on the other hand, this is the only way which might enable the government to control gambling."

Muladi, rector of Diponegoro University, said that Indonesia could learn from Malaysia which provides gamblers a refuge in Genting Highland.

Malaysia, Australia and the United States are among the countries which localize instead of banning gambling. Gamblers earn the countries' governments millions dollars in tax revenues annually.

As with Genting Highland, Indonesia's gambling center must be restricted only to people who are fond of gambling and have money, according to Muladi.

"No students, civil servants or Armed Forces members should be allowed to enter," he said.

Muladi said Nusakambangan was only a suggestion; other potential sites included Karimunjawa island and the Seribu Islands in the Java Sea

He suggested that some portions of profits enjoyed by gambling organizers should go to both the provincial and central government's coffers in the form of taxes.

"The government could use the money to fund nonreligious projects, such as road construction and environmental programs," Muladi said.

The government terminated the legal lottery in December 1994 following nationwide protests. The protesters considered the lottery a form of gambling.

Prior to the ban, Nahdlatul Ulama had come under fire for receiving donations from organizers of the lottery. The country's largest Moslem organization eventually returned the money.

Central Java governor Soewardi welcomed Sahal's thoughts and said he would consider the idea.

"But we will not decide on this crucial matter in the near future. We will first look at both the benefits and costs of the plan," he said.

"We need more ideas from other sections of society so we can decide whether or not to pick Nusakambangan or another place as a gambling center," he added. (har/amd)