Tourism plan meets opposition

BATAM, Riau: An alliance of 38 Muslim organizations in Batam staged a demonstration on Monday, protesting the local administrations' plan to establish an exclusive gambling and prostitution on the island.

The demonstrators who also held a free speech forum at the local legislative building, asked the legislative council to turn down the plan.

"We will deploy more Muslim people to stage a major demonstration to force the legislative council to drop the local administration's crazy plan," said Muhammad S. Laba who coordinated the demonstration.

Local people have been divided over the local administration's plan to develop an exclusive tourist resort worth US$400 million on the island with a foreign businessman. --Antara