Foreign gamblers to be invited in planned casinos
Foreign gamblers to be invited in planned casinos
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Some in the city administration are already making plans to
attract foreign gamblers to the proposed Thousand Islands
casinos.
The deputy regent of the Thousand Islands regency, Djoko
Ramadhan, outlined on Monday how foreigners could be brought to
the casinos.
"We could pick up the foreign gamblers at the Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport using light planes, such as Cessnas," Djoko
told reporters after attending a plenary session of the City
Council.
He said the planes could land on the nine-hectare Panjang
island, which has a landing strip, and the gamblers could then be
transported by boat to whichever of the nearby 36 islands might
end up with casinos on them.
He said all 36 of these islands were located in the North
Thousand Islands district in the northern part of the regency,
and could be reached by speedboat in one hour from Ancol, North
Jakarta.
Those islands that could become home to casinos include Lipan
(6.26 hectares), Sebaru (16 hectares), Hantu (19 hectares),
Melintang (16 hectares), Semut (six hectares), Bira Besar (29
hectares), Bira Kecil (seven hectares) and Melinjo (11 hectares).
The regency, which has a population of about 17,000, consists
of two districts, North Thousand Islands and South Thousand
Islands, each of which has three subdistricts.
Regent K. Abdul Kadir revealed last Wednesday that a
foundation had officially submitted a proposal to construct a
casino in the islands. He declined to give the name of the
foundation.
Kadir said if a casino was built, gamblers would be required
to deposit Rp 10 million (US$1,000) and have a membership card in
order to prevent "ordinary people" from entering the casino.
City Governor Sutiyoso reiterated on Monday his support for a
casino, and urged the central government to revoke its regulation
banning the practice.
"The government should look at the reality of it (gambling).
It should revise the regulation," Sutiyoso told reporters.
He said he was certain numerous investors would be interested
in operating casinos in the islands, if only the government would
legalize gambling there.
According to the Criminal Code, gambling is illegal unless it
is permitted by the authorities. But a presidential decree bans
gambling in the country.
So while some in the city administration are working out plans
to bring in foreign gamblers, legalized gambling is still some
time away. First, the presidential decree would have to be
revoked, and then the approval of the City Council would have to
be obtained.
In addition, legalized gambling would undoubtedly face fierce
resistance from Islamic hard-liners and the Indonesian Ulemas
Council.
But if Sutiyoso was determined to see casinos built in the
islands, he could employ Law No. 34/1999 on the special
administration of Jakarta, which gives the governor special
autonomy to rule the city.
Meanwhile, a group of 300 people calling themselves Metrowatch
urged the administration to allow casinos to be operated in five-
star hotels in the city.
Arriving at the City Council building in Central Jakarta
aboard five buses, the group said casinos could not be separated
from the city, which was not the practice in other metropolitan
cities in the world.
"We disagree with the idea of localizing gambling in the
Thousand Islands," the group's spokesman, Erwin, told reporters.
He said if gambling was localized in the islands it would be
difficult to monitor and would negatively influence local
residents.