Closing Ancol is a foolish idea, say Politicians

JAKARTA (JP): Politicians, responding to a Golkar member's suggestion, said yesterday that closing the Ancol Dreamland Park would not help solve the growing drug problem.

Ais Anantama Said, Golkar central board head of the Art and Culture Department asked Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja Tuesday to close the prestigious recreation park because it had become a haven for drug traffickers and users.

But Tadjus Sobirin, the head of the area's Golkar faction for Jakarta area, lambasted the suggestion yesterday, saying it was an absurd.

"Everyone is free to make a suggestion that could bring a solution to the abuse of the designer drug Ecstasy, but this particular suggestion of closing Ancol is big nonsense," Tajus said.

Surjadi supported Tadjus' statement and said the city would never shut down the recreation park because of such silly allegations.

"The park has been visited by an average 10 million people every year. How could we close the whole recreation facility just because of offenses by a small bunch of drug addicts?" Surjadi asked.

The president of Ancol's manager PT Pembangunan Jaya, Hanafi Lauw, said that there were no grounds to close the site. "Which part of the site do we have to close? That's just not right."

Objecting to Ais's allegation that PT Pembangunan Jaya never heeded officials' warning that Ancol had become a haven for prostitutes and drug addicts, Hanafi said: "We always support police operations on our property and we will continue to do so in a bid to reduce tripping on the site."

Councilors from different factions joined the chorus in rejecting Ais' suggestion.

The chairman of Indonesian Democratic Party faction, Lukman Mokoginta said it was a bad idea.

"Closing the park will not stop people from using drugs as they will soon find other places. The best solution is to step up preventive measures and impose stricter punishment on drugs users and traffickers, Lukman said.

The deputy head of Commission E for public welfare, the United Development Party's Ronggo Sutrisno Taher, said he opposed the idea of closing the entire Ancol recreation site.

"If we have to, just close the particular area where tripping activities usually occur, not the entire Ancol Dreamland Park," he said.

Ancol Dreamland Park, set up in 1967 on 552-hectares, offers a large variety of attractions and amusement centers for everyone. To local people Ancol is like Disneyland to the Americans.

Park manager PT Pembangunan Jaya owns 20 percent of the park while the City Administration owns 80 percent. The City Administration owns 40 percent of PT Pembangunan Jaya. (04)