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.