'Make sure no kids visit the casinos'
Not all City Council members have expressed interest in the idea floated by former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin that gambling and prostitution should be legalized so as to produce additional tax revenue that could ease the city's budgetary constraints. The Jakarta Post asked some Jakarta people for their opinions on the issue.
Jeannyal, 23, works for a finance company located in the Jakarta Stock Exchange building on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, South Jakarta. She lives in a rented house in Kota, West Jakarta:
Legalizing gambling and prostitution in designated areas in the capital would be a good idea.
But, the administration must ensure that gambling and prostitution are eradicated in places outside the designated zones. Otherwise, ubiquitous gambling and prostitution would severely undermine the morals of the community at large, especially children.
I once visited the Genting Highlands in Malaysia. Everyone who wants to gamble has to pass a security check to ensure that those who are underage don't get in.
Gambling and prostitution are still going on covertly around my rented home in Kota. Many shophouses there look like normal shops, but if you take a closer look you'll find that they are gambling dens.
Ari, 34, is a truck driver. He lives in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, with his wife and son:
They shouldn't legalize gambling, not even for those who can afford it. Whether one is rich or poor, it is a sin for one to gamble.
There are already so many illegal gambling dens around the city, backed by the police and authorities. What will happen to them if they confine gambling to certain designated areas? I doubt that they would cease to exist. They will resist being closed by claiming that if gambling is legal in one place, it should be legal everywhere.
Even back in my village in Wonogiri, East Java, gambling is rampant. What kind of message will we be sending them by allowing gambling in the capital? It would only cause people to gamble more, causing even more problems.
--The Jakarta Post