Fallout from Bali blast also felt in Jakarta
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Entertainment centers in the city are on the alert and increasing their security measures following the bombings in Bali on Saturday night which left more than 180 people dead, an industry official said on Sunday.
The secretary of the Entertainment Center Owners Association, Adrian Maelite, said that foreign guests evacuated several entertainment centers in the capital, including pubs and discotheques, hours after the bombing in Bali.
"The discotheques and pubs, which usually stay open until the early morning, were empty at 1 a.m. last night. I think (the people) heard the news," Adrian told The Jakarta Post.
He said he had instructed centers frequented by foreigners to increase security, and had asked the police to deploy more officers at the centers.
He pointed to at least three areas that are frequented by foreigners; Hailai discotheque in North Jakarta, Jl. Melawai in South Jakarta and the Tanamur discotheque in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.
Adrian condemned the Bali bombing, and urged the police to bring the perpetrators to justice immediately.
"Jakarta has been terrorized before and now Bali, which is known as the safest place (in Indonesia). Police should move quickly," he said.
He predicted that in the coming months there would be a drop in the number of guests, especially foreign ones, to entertainment centers.
"It's a tragedy. It will take a long time to recover," he said.
Meanwhile, Marzuki Usman, former minister of tourism and culture and the chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB)'s Jakarta chapter, condemned the bombing in Bali and urged the police to arrest the perpetrators.
He called on the police to increase security in Jakarta and to take stern measures against all militant groups, some of which have in the past vandalized entertainment centers in the city.
One radical group, the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), damaged several entertainment centers here last week. Police arrested at least eight members of the group.
On Sunday morning the American Sports Club on Jl. Brawijaya in South Jakarta received a bomb threat from an unidentified man, who ordered the club to close or be bombed.
Police officers deployed to the scene found nothing suspicious at the club.
The chairwoman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, Yanti Sukamdani, also condemned the bombing.
"We convey our deepest condolences to the bombing victims. We firmly deplore the bombing in Bali, the window of the country's tourism industry," Yanti told the Post.
She predicted that the hotel occupancy rate, which is currently at an average of 50 percent, would drop.
Meanwhile, the Sheraton Bandara Hotel's public relations manager, Prima Soemarno, said on Sunday the hotel had tightened its security following the bombing in Bali.
"We have told our security officers to be more alert following the bombing in Bali," Prima told the Post. But he added that there had been no increase in the number of security officers at the hotel, located near the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
City police chief, Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara, stated on Sunday that the police would increase security in the capital.
"We are taking the necessary measures to improve security in the city. We urge people to report to the police any suspicious activities," he said on Sunday after the National Police chief, Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, ordered all regional police chiefs to increase security in their respective provinces.