Letter: Kemang not just for residents

This is a comment on an article titled "Kemang residents irked by nightclubs," (the Post, Feb. 17, p. 1).

This is not a new phenomenon, ever since the inception of Kemang, it has been a haven for small boutique shops, bars and restaurants and there has always been traffic and drunken revelry in this area. It is not like yesterday it was quiet, then today it is filled with traffic and people.

If you do not like the problems in Kemang, then you should move. You cannot expect the place to change just for you.

With regard to the people complaining about morning prayers being disturbed by individuals enjoying themselves in Kemang, these people should be ashamed of themselves. The area was built on the money spent by such individuals. The revelers spend a lot of money on eating, drinking and shopping there, which helped in building up the area.

If we are discussing things we do not like about Kemang and Bangka, then I should like to bring up the following points.

What I hate, is when I drive to Kemang through Bangka inconsiderate Islamic people at the mosques close the road off without any consideration for other people any time they please, diverting traffic to meet their needs. They stand in the street forcing cars to go around them, or cause traffic jams and they deem it OK. The police should do something about these people.

I assume some law is being broken there as well. The mayor should have district and subdistrict heads put sanctions against mosques that disrupt the transportation flow, or force them to abide by the rules and regulations of Indonesia.

This is what a lot of people forget. Just because their indignation is cloaked in religion, does not mean they are above the law, no matter how much they scream that the law of God is the only law they abide by.

David K
Jakarta