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.