Gambling rampant in East Timor

DILI, East Timor: Prominent legislators criticized the government yesterday for taking no action to stop gambling, which they say has gone unchecked in Indonesia's youngest province.

Umar Balafid and Manuel C.G. Oliveira warned that gambling, which is illegal in Indonesia, threatened the future of young East Timorese.

Umar said he was confused by the government's policy on gambling. "If it's forbidden by law, why do they close their eyes to the rife gambling here?," he said.

He denied suggestions that the ruling Golkar party, to which he belongs, encourages the illicit activities in order to divert the people's attention from the province's pressing social problems.

According to Oliveira, law enforcement is so slack that many government employees are often seen gambling during office hours.

"The government should pay better attention to the problem if it does not want to see the future of the province's younger generations devastated," he said. (yac)