Gambling: Bane or blessing for Jakarta?

Gambling: Bane or blessing for Jakarta?

Harry Bhaskara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso has a headache in curbing widespread
gambling and prostitution in the city. At least, this is what he
said publicly recently. It is hard to judge, though, whether this
headache is genuine or not. After all, gambling and prostitution
-- both illegal -- have been plaguing the capital for years under
the direct gaze of the authorities.

Despite political reformation, the bureaucracy still retains
much of its opaque nature. We read in the news that an
entrepreneur has proposed to the governor that he legalize
gambling in the Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Islands), north of
Jakarta. The retired Army general governor flatly denied the news
but acknowledged he had a headache.

This prompts the question: Why is the governor is suffering
from the headache now? In addition, why did the City Council
invite former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin to its session last
week?

As reported, the legendary retired marine general has thrown
his support behind a policy to legalize gambling and prostitution
in a divided council.

Ali who governed Jakarta from the mid 1960s to 1970s legalized
lotteries, casinos and prostitution. The money obtained from the
taxes were used for schools, health clinics, roads, bridges and
markets. Jakartans, who watched their city bloom like a young
girl into full womanhood, have since adored him.

Ali also told the council that the community needed to be
protected from uncontrolled gambling and prostitution.

The timing of the alleged proposal from the businessman, the
appearance of Ali at the City Council and Sutiyoso claiming the
problem was a real headache seems to be too uncanny to be a
coincidence. It is as if the city government is testing the water
to ascertain whether the time is ripe for a policy change. Or,
perhaps it was meant to gain support from the public. Even if
this is so, there is nothing wrong with it.

In the mid 1960s, Ali faced fierce opposition, notably from
Muslim leaders, as gambling is prohibited in Islam. He likes to
relate how he told his opponents to use helicopters to travel in
Jakarta as its roads were built from casino money.

Surely there have been some changes in the 30-year gap between
Ali's time and Sutiyoso's. The political climate, strongly
dictatorial during Ali's years, has become more democratic today.
People have become more assertive and have more freedom to air
their views. But how strong the opposition toward legalizing
gambling and prostitution will be, is hard to gauge.

In case Sutiyoso's headache is genuine, it is justified.
Gambling continues unabated in the capital. It affects virtually
all segments of society including the common people. Prostitutes
keep coming back even when the brothels have been knocked down.
In addition, barred from regulated zones, the practice now knows
no boundaries.

There are offshoots from both activities in other sectors as
well. Underground players in those lucrative businesses need
security protection. Ali has openly said that security officers
are involved in giving protection to illegal operators. If so,
Sutiyoso needs to think about a substitute for the extra income
they get, lest they oppose the policy. This is a lot more complex
an issue than it appears to be. The question is how will he win
the hearts of the vested interests? They have been profiting for
years out of the illegal activities.

There are also a huge number of people employed in the illegal
activities. Sutiyoso has to make sure that as few workers as
possible lose their jobs once the policy is in place.

As complex as the issue looks, money to make the city a better
place to live is not the main question. Jakarta has Rp 76 billion
(US$7.6 million) to spend in any single day and it has hundreds
of billions of rupiah in reserve funds every year to be used for
emergencies. Jakarta has suffered more from bad policies than
lack of money.

More pressing is the question of protecting the health of the
community as a result of uncontrolled prostitution and gambling
addiction.

Legalization of gambling and prostitution has its advantages.
The money enjoyed by the protection rackets will be channeled to
the people through public utilities. The Association of
Indonesian Entertainment Centers says as much as Rp 200 billion
is spent in illegal gambling every day. Regulated zones for
prostitution will make it easier to control sexually-transmitted
diseases.

Certainly, Sutiyoso can learn from the Malaysian government,
which gets handsome returns from gambling taxes as well as
banning Muslims from entering casinos. But he should not dwell
too long on his headaches. His predecessor has shown that it is
possible to find a workable solution.