T

he Surakarta municipal administration has decided to limit the operational hours of entertainment spots in the city during the fasting month of Ramadhan, which will start on Friday for some groups of Muslims and on Saturday for
other groups.

The municipal secretary Budi Suharto said a mayoral circular was being prepared by the administration to regulate the matter by referring to Bylaw No 4/2002 on Recreation and Public Entertainment Businesses.

“The content will not be too different from the one applied in previous years,” Budi said over the weekend.

The circular, according to Budi, will completely ban entertainment spots from operating during the first and last weeks of Ramadhan. They will be allowed to operate on the second and third weeks of the holy month with some limitations. There are some 40 different entertainment spots in the city.

Clubs and pubs will be allowed to operate from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and bars from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Allowed operational hours for karaoke houses and cafes are from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. (the following day) while the operation hours of arcade game centers will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to midnight.

“The municipal administration will cooperate with the police for the implementation of the regulation in the field, including in relation to alcoholic drinks,” Budi said.

Rules applicable to alcoholic drinks will, according to Budi, be tighter compared with previous years. Outlets will not be allowed to display liquor for the duration of the fasting month.

“If they keep on displaying liquor, the police and the public order officers [Satpol PP] have the authority to remind them or seize the merchandise,” he said.

Municipal Tourism and Culture Agency head Widdi Srihanto said his office had planned to invite employers running night spot businesses in the city for a familiarization session of the planned mayoral circular.

“We just want to make sure that the regulation is implemented and hope that they commit to implementing it,” he said.

Separately, public relations officer Retno Wulandari of the four-star rated Sunan Hotel, Surakarta, said that the hotel had no objection with regard to the planned regulation on the operational hours of night spots during Ramadhan.

She said the hotel management had even decided to completely close its night club, Musro, for the whole month of Ramadhan and said that it would be replaced with events that carried an Islamic nuance. Hotel decorations will also be adjusted appropriately toward Ramadhan.

“We have implemented exactly the same policy since 1998,” she said.