C. Java ulemas suggest centralized gambling den

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)