Residents skeptical about planned brothel closure
Residents skeptical about planned brothel closure
JAKARTA (JP): Residents near the Pejompongan Indah
prostitution complex in Central Jakarta are skeptical about the
government's plan to shut down activities at the compound once
and for all.
"It's happened too often, the complex has grown resistant to
closure," Ahmad, a resident of Bendungan Hilir subdistrict told
The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Newspapers reported recently that Central Jakarta's Deputy
Mayor Abdul Kahfi has warned operators of 30 brothels employing
250 prostitutes to stop business by tomorrow.
"We will be issuing two more warnings before we resort to
sealing up the brothels," Tugiman Supangkat, a city official was
quoted as saying after the first warning issued on March 12.
Ahmad, a long time resident of the area, said that the
government has sealed the complex many times since prostitution
started there in the early 1970s. It reopens every time it is
closed down.
Ujang, another resident speculated that the March 12 warning
was issued because President Soeharto is scheduled to dedicate a
new low-cost apartment building near the complex.
Sources at the Central Jakarta administration said that the
plan to close the red-light area dated back to 1985.
Whatever reason for the warning, most residents said they are
relieved the administration is planning to eliminate the brothels
there.
"The red-light district is not conducive for families to raise
children here," another resident said.
She added that the loud music at night and the ceaseless flow
of people from all walks of life roaming the area day and night
were distressing.
A plan is afoot to build a low-cost apartment building where
the brothel complex now stands. If the plan is realized the
complex and the buildings in the surrounding area will have to be
demolished.
Local residents, however, were doubtful that this plan will
materialize in the near future.
"It'll take at least two to three years," Muradji, a
neighborhood community leader, told the Post.
The government would have to consider the mixed nature of the
quality of the buildings in the area which is occupied by both
shanties and concrete structures.
A 10-story building is currently being built near the red-
light district and is scheduled to be inaugurated by the
President on March 28, a construction supervisor said.
Sources at the Bendungan Hilir subdistrict office said
Saturday, that the land on which this apartment is being built
was once densely populated. The government banned residents from
rebuilding their houses following a big fire in the area in 1994.
The residents were compensated for their losses with enough cash
to purchase T-21 type units in the apartment complex.
The sources said that priority to the apartments was given to
residents whose houses were destroyed in the fire. The sources
refused to reveal the prices of the apartments. (14)