'Make sure no kids visit the casinos'

'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