Firman defends failure in curbing gambling
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
City police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani on Wednesday defended the police's failure to eradicate gambling here, arguing that a weak legal system had prevented city police from arresting suspected gambling bosses.
Firman, who had earlier proclaimed that he would wipe out gambling in the city in three days and fire police chiefs who failed to stamp out the practice in their respective areas, now says that police could only arrest people who were actually caught in the act of gambling.
"Owners of all the big gambling dens have closed their operations. According to the law, we must have hard evidence to be able to arrest people. He or she must be caught in the middle of the game at the gambling site with his or her gambling equipment," said.
Firman said that his officers would continue to watch the closed gambling dens, and promised that they would arrest any owner who dared to open their dens again.
National Police chief Gen. Sutanto last Monday gave a one-week ultimatum to provincial police chiefs to eradicate gambling in their respective areas. He warned that if they did not comply with his order they would be fired and face criminal charges.
Firman quickly ordered his top officers, precinct and sub- precinct chiefs to eradicate gambling in the capital within three days with the threat that if there was a single report of gambling in a certain area, the respective area chief would be relieved of his or her duties.
Immediately after Firman's order police began cracking down on gambling dens in Jakarta. They announced the arrest of over 500 gamblers and den operators. However, many have complained that none of the big gambling dens have been raided and no big-time gamblers have been arrested.
Despite the fact that they haven't arrested any big-time gamblers, city police claimed on Monday that all precinct and subprecinct chiefs had successfully closed down all of the gambling dens in the capital and thus none would be fired.
Jakarta police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Bagus Ekodanto, the head of the gambling eradication program, said that there was no more gambling in the Greater Jakarta area because all officers had performed well in eradicating it in their own areas.
Several observers, however, have harshly criticized the gambling eradication operation, calling their efforts "a joke" as only small-time gamblers had been arrested with big fish being left untouched. Others have said that according to the law police could raid even already closed gambling dens and arrest their owners.
Executive director of the Independent Monitoring Alliance on State Apparatus (AMIPKA) David Ridwan Betz pointed out that the police had done nothing even though it was clear that, for instance, Harco Mangga Dua and Glodok in West Jakarta as well as Ayer were being used as gambling centers involving billions of rupiah.
He added that police in fact already knew the identities of all the big gambling bosses in the capital.
A legal expert at the University of Indonesia Rudy Strio said that police should have the courage to raid big gambling dens and arrest their operators because they had the authority to do so.
"If they know that the places are being used for gambling then they should raid the places and confiscate all the gambling equipment. They can also arrest the owners. Why must they wait for them to reopen?" he told The Jakarta Post.