Governor to legalize casinos?

Governor to legalize casinos?

From Pikiran Rakyat

In TVRI's April 12, 2002, roundup of newspaper editorials, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso was reported to be intent on legalizing a casino in the Thousand Islands based on the argument that attempts to ban gambling had been ineffective.

It makes me wonder why the governor, with his high level of education and intellectual capacity, has employed such simplistic logic in deciding on something that is prohibited by all religions.

Allow me to invite you, Mr. Governor, to follow my humble reasoning. When did effectiveness become a yardstick by which to legalize something prohibited by religious norms? What has made you think that way? Even with schools and religious education, students in Jakarta keep brawling. So, will you later close down all public and religious schools for being ineffectual in ending such brawls?

I would prefer to view the problem from the perspective of the maximum effort that could be made and the seriousness of the efforts made, rather than from the perspective of the authorities' desperation. You may already know of the great harm caused by gambling. The public should never again be misled by legalizing this practice. After your being blamed for oppressing the ordinary citizens of Jakarta (pedicab drivers, sidewalk vendors), do you have no shame in the eyes of your God even after the recent flood disaster?

NANANG ABDUL MALIK

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