'City should not be discriminative'
'City should not be discriminative'
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A councillor of City Council Commission E for social welfare
urged the city administration to allow all entertainment centers
to operate during Ramadhan fasting month.
Councillor Lambertus Gainadara of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) stated on Wednesday that more
than one million people depend on the business for their
livelihood.
"The centers support more than one million people. The
administration should take that into account," he said.
The councillor supported the Entertainment Centers Owners
Association' secretary, Adrian Maelite, who demanded that all of
entertainment centers be allowed to operate during the fasting
month.
He said that the city administration's policy of only allowing
certain entertainment centers to remain open was discriminatory.
"It's discriminatory if certain centers are not allowed to
open while the others located in star-rated hotels are allowed,"
Adrian, who is also the manager of Parahyangan club on Jl. Blora
Central Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post.
The city administration decided on Tuesday to apply a decree
similar to the gubernatorial decree issued last year that banned
the operation of discotheques, massage parlors, pin ball parlors
and saunas during the fasting month.
The city has some 2,887 entertainment centers, including 251
cinemas, 200 billiard halls, 1,228 bars and restaurants, 144
discotheques, 193 hotels, 12 night clubs, 35 cafes, 11 saunas,
263 Karaoke halls, 221 massage parlors, 20 "barber shops" and 20
amusement centers.
Separately, Jakarta Tourism Agency chief Robert Silalahi said
the ban was based on the assumption that the places were linked
with drugs, prostitution and gambling.
"While entertainment centers in star-rated hotels are allowed
since they are part of the hotels' facilities," Robert said on
Wednesday.
He said the city administration would be more moderate in
applying the decree since it predicted certain militant groups
would not raise strong rejections to the operation of
entertainment centers as had happened in past years.
He said Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso would sign the decree on
permits for entertainment centers during Ramadhan which would
begin next month.
Meanwhile, Adrian disagreed that the ban was related to the
assumption that the centers were used for drugs, gambling and
prostitution.
"If they found drugs in the discotheques, they could close the
discotheques without waiting for the fasting month since it
already violates regulation," said Adrian.
He said prostitution and gambling also could not be used as a
reason since the practices could occur elsewhere although the
centers were closed.
He said the association also demanded that the administration
allow the centers to remain open until 2 a.m. "What's the
different between 12:30 a.m. and 2 a.m.?"
According to the decree, the centers are allowed to operate
between 8:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. The centers usually operate
until 2 a.m. on Monday to Friday and until 3 a.m. on Saturday and
Sunday.
Adrian said his association would stage a rally if their
demands were not met by the city administration.
"We will come to City Hall, but maybe the gathering will not
as big as the previous rally," he said.
Thousands of people representing the centers staged a rally in
front of City Hall on Monday demanding that the administration
allow them to operate during Ramadhan.
The association earlier also demanded that the administration
disband the militant Islam Defenders Front (FPI) which had
vandalized the centers on several occasions in the past. Eight
members of FPI are currently being detained for destroying
several entertainment centers in West Jakarta two weeks ago. Its
chairman Al-Habib Rizieq Shihab has been named a suspect in the
case.