B

ANDA ACEH: Several community organizations issued a joint statement on Wednesday rejecting the presence of punks in Aceh and called on the local government to issue an ordinance that would outlaw a punk lifestyle.

Secretary of Aceh Ulama Association Tgk. Faisal Ali said local government should offer no place for punk communities to thrive. “We call on the local government to issue a qanun (bylaw) that would ban punk communities in Aceh,” he said as quoted by Antara.

Other groups that supported the move included the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI), the Muslim High School Students’ Association (PII), the Muslim Students’ Association (HMI) and the Aceh Council for Proselytization.

The chairman of the Aceh Association for Imams, Tarmizi Rasyid, also suggested that the detention period for the punks who had been arrested should be extended from 10 days to three months.

“Of course, we will need more funds and more direct involvement from the government. Otherwise they will hit the streets in no time,” Tarmizi said.

The police rounded up 65 youths during a concert in Banda Aceh on Wednesday last week and brought them to a detention center where their spiky Mohawk hairstyles were shaved off.