Gun counters at JCC prove a big draw

JAKARTA (JP): A man walked toward a crowd of people gathered in front of several stands at the Police Technology Exhibition 2000 at the Jakarta Convention Center in Central Jakarta on Friday.

The man, Agung Yulianto, approached an attendant at one of the display stands and uttered a straightforward statement: "I want to buy a gun."

In response, the attendant -- as she had done with the others gathered in front of her -- explained to Agung that interested parties could purchase a weapon after a three-month waiting period and only if they met all the requirements.

Agung, who said he was the owner and chief editor of the Tabir weekly tabloid, was one of a crowd of visitors packing the second day of the four-day gun exhibition. The show is the first in the country to display a wide range of automatic and semiautomatic rifles, pistols and revolvers, along with gas canisters, rubber bullets and live bullets, all for sale to the public.

None of the attendants and executives of the companies taking part in the July 20 to July 23 exhibition were willing to disclose the number of purchase applications they had received during the first two days of the expo.

Visitors to the show, who could not hide their enthusiasm at the prospect of owning a weapon, come from different backgrounds but have similar reasons for their desire to possess a gun, namely self-protection.

Some of the visitors said they already owned guns. "I already have a pistol," Agung told The Jakarta Post, pulling out a gun from his small bag. "But this one uses rubber bullets. I want one that uses real bullets."

A director of a construction and engineering company on Jl. Kalisari in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, Surato, said he had already filled out an application at the exhibition to purchase a gun.

"I need a gun for self-defense because I often get job contracts which require me to go to some areas in the forest," Surato told the Post.

Surato said that once when he was driving in Lampung for a job, a group of four men stopped his car and tried to rob him. "Luckily there were also four of us in the car and we fought back."

"If I had a gun at that time, it would have been simpler to make them go away," he added.

Another visitor, Kasmar Sinaga, who said he owned a lumber company in Cirebon, West Java, said he needed a gun to defend himself against people who robbed motorists traveling on the main road connecting Jakarta and Cirebon.

"There are many 'flying squirrels' there," Kasmar told the Post, using a local term to describe the bandits.

Danu Effendi, the operational manager of PT Budimanmaju Megah, a gun supplier participating in the exhibition, said his firm would first require applicants obtain a letter of good conduct and a gun permit from the police.

"Applicants will have to go to Jakarta Police Headquarters for screenings, including a psychological test and a test on shooting proficiency," Danu said.

Like his fellow exhibitors, Danu refused to say how many visitors had applied to purchase guns from his company.

Danu's company is selling various .32 and .22 caliber pistols for US$6,600 each and a number of different types of shotguns with 28-inch and 26-inch barrels for Rp 35 million ($3,850). To purchase the arms, applicants must meet the requirements laid out in brochures available at the company's stand.

High-level executives from private companies, such as president directors, president commissioners, commissioners, presidents and directors of finance, can apply to own a gun. Legislators, ministers, governors and Cabinet secretaries are also welcome, he said.

Danu said it usually took three months for an applicant to have their permit issued by the National Police.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dadang Garnida said earlier the seemingly easy procedure to purchase a gun was meant to curb gun smuggling and the illegal possession of firearms. He added that controlling the legal possession of guns was an easier task.

However, the exhibition also drew expressions of concern from a number of people, including legislator Sophan Sophian, who feared that open applications for gun possession would lead to many people owning guns.

"It could be like the Wild West," Sophan told the Post on Thursday.

Numerous executives from private companies have come to the exhibition and expressed their desire to own a gun.

A middle-aged visitor appeared excited as he held a gun in front of a counter. "Hey, take a picture of me," he said, pointing the empty gun at a photographer.(08)