Discrimination and self-esteem

There is little that will guarantee a more negative and speedy response than a perceived assault on our self-esteem and feeling of worth. The recent reports of at least two young ladies having been treated with less than the respect they deserved by management at the B.A.T.S. nightclub in the Shangri-La Hotel is an example of a practice that has been going on in Indonesia for as long as I have been here, that of discrimination against selected Indonesians.

The targeting of Indonesian, unaccompanied females, as undesirable clientele is not new for B.A.T.S., nor some other similar establishments in Jakarta. One assumes that the managements of these establishments have a particular reason for refusing entrance to young ladies from time to time but I am unable to see the decency in this practice.

To be stood off in front of your peers and to be refused entrance on the basis of your being pribumi (indigenous), female, and unattached to a male of the species is something management could only accomplish in a setting where the laws of the land do not offer the protection required to ensure this type of practice is not allowed to continue.

The hotel management has an obvious obligation to protect the clientele that use the establishment. This protection follows some fairly common rules employed around the world and are, I believe, obvious to people who use these places. Generally, if you cause trouble, you go. I have traveled to many places, stayed in a lot of hotels, and I have yet to see the requirement for being ejected or refused entrance as being national, unaccompanied and female.

L.A. Jacobs' defense of Ms. Marshall is, of course, admirable, but I feel, somewhat misplaced, and I am sure it will be worth a couple of drinks on the house next time he/she drops into B.A.T.S. The letter may have been useful if it had addressed the problem of Indonesian citizens being discriminated against in their own country for nothing more than being a young lady out on the town looking to enjoy herself, alone.

EDWARD LANG

Jakarta