Expert backs well-managed gambling
Expert backs well-managed gambling
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Sociologist Gumilar Rusliwa Soemantri from the University of
Indonesia on Monday welcomed a proposal to legalize gambling and
prostitution, as long as it was restricted to specified areas in
the capital that were closely managed.
"Localizing gambling and prostitution to restricted zones
could be an option (for the Jakarta administration), but the
policy should be followed up with supporting regulations as well
as other comprehensive measures, including awareness campaigns
for gamblers and sex workers over the dangers of such activities
for children, for instance," Gumilar told The Jakarta Post.
Former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin, who legalized gambling
and prostitution activities during his tenure between 1966 and
1977, has proposed to the City Council that gambling and
prostitution again be legalized.
Ali argued that localizing gambling and prostitution would end
the ubiquitous illegal activities, which have long been backed by
corrupt officials, police, military officers and hoodlums.
The idea, however, has polarized councillors.
Under Law No. 7, 1974, all forms of gambling are illegal with
violators facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison or a Rp
10 million fine.
"However, I don't really agree with Ali's idea in the sense
that the policy is only simply locating gambling or prostitution
within certain areas in order to secure greater revenue for the
city, without any supporting policies to protect those involved
in it or the public in general," he asserted.
He said that the administration should also launch awareness
campaigns to ensure that children were not involved in the
activities.
"The benefits we could obtain from the policy (to localize
gambling and prostitution) are that we could better control and
calculate the risks, rather than allowing gambling and
prostitution to run rampant unlawfully across the capital," he
asserted.
The administration could also more effectively reach out to
sex workers and raise their awareness of the dangers of sexually
transmitted diseases, such as HIV/AIDS.
The Association of Indonesian Entertainment Centers
(Aspehindo) estimates that illegal gambling in Indonesia sees a
daily turnover of up to Rp 200 billion (US$21.5 million).
Separately, head of Ciracas district Muhammad Iwan said that
the district office had decided to convert a former brothel
complex into a to dump site.
"We have cleared the complex of prostitutes nine times since
January this year, but the sex workers just return again and
again," he complained.
He said the conversion of the complex into a dump site was
meant to deter sex worker's clients from coming to the area.