Legislators firm on erring clubs

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration must revoke permits of nightspots which repeatedly break the law, city councilors said on Monday after a second drug raid at a South Jakarta discotheque.

Yusuf Hamdani, chairman of the United Development Party (PPP) faction of the city council, said repeated violations by the nightspots showed a disrespect for public order.

"Clubs where drug transactions repeatedly take place must be closed down," he said.

M Klub discotheque was raided on Saturday night and 158 Ecstasy pills were seized. The raid came just three days after M Klub reopened after a drug bust on Oct. 18.

In the first raid, authorities seized 30 Ecstasy pills and six pornographic video cassettes from the manager's room. The raid prompted the governor to say the club's permit would be revoked if its employees were found guilty of selling the contraband.

Yusuf said officials in charge of handling the cases should be screened to prevent them from committing irregularities.

"Officials may be involved in wrongdoings if offenders keep getting away with their violations," he said.

Meanwhile, the secretary of the Indian Democratic Party (PDI) faction of the city council, Romulus Sihombing, urged the city administration to impose harsher sanctions on the recalcitrant clubs.

"If the clubs continue to violate the law, people will become cynical about public order," he said. (04)