Ulemas want mayor to erase prostitution

TANGERANG: A group of ulema have asked Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim to eliminate prostitution in the municipality, citing fears that sex workers could spread HIV/AIDS.

"The ulemas are willing to take part in raids to drive prostitutes and transvestite sex workers from the town," said Lau Pangkun, an official with the Indonesian Tionghoa Muslim Unity Body, on Saturday.

The chairman of the Tangerang branch of the Indonesian Ulemas Council, Saiful Millah, said the administration had reached an agreement with the ulemas to eliminate prostitution.

He said the agreement also included the eradication of gambling, drugs and alcohol in Tangerang. -- JP