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strong>Sept. 3, p1

Partygoers in Jakarta may have to go home early as the Jakarta City Council is planning to approve a bylaw on tourism next week regulating that nightclubs may only operate until midnight.

City Council regional legislation board (Balegda) chairman Muhammad Taufik of the Gerindra Party said that councilors had suggested the new curfew in light of concerns over illegal drug-taking in nightclubs.

Taufik said that councilors had considered two options: to limit the operational hours of nightclubs until 12 a.m. or to completely ban nightclubs from operating.

Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency head Purba Hutapea said that although he respected the suggestion, he asked councilors to reconsider the bylaw draft before approval, saying that it was not the answer to drug problems in Jakarta.

'€œLimiting the operational hours of nightclubs does not solve the problem. People can still do drugs elsewhere,'€ Purba told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Friday.

Your comments

Thousands more are going to lose their jobs because fat cats want to look pious.

Ch

Today in Syria: IS blows up Palmyra, a UNESCO world heritage site, because it is '€˜'€™unIslamic'€. Meanwhile in Jakarta, Indonesia blows up its own entertainment industry because it is '€œunIslamic'€. Meanwhile, everywhere in the Islamic world the government is a bunch of crooks stealing millions upon millions and no imam stands up against it.

Lasem Benny

A study by French researcher Jerome Tadie and his Indonesian counterpart shows that regulating nightlife in Jakarta inevitably ends up as another way for the police and the administration to extort more money from nightclub owners.

This also benefits Islamist vigilante groups which have more legitimacy for raiding nightclubs, hence making more money in the process. The main objective of the raids is to extort money.  

Corruption is still rampant in the country. Regulations of this kind are a way to increase the potential for corruption.

Silvio Bari

Good decision. Let'€™s hope the government back up its implementation in words and spirit.

Wadata

Is brain activity slowing down like the economy? Do they really think that the drug dealers will shut down their business and became ojek driver? Of all possible solutions they took the one involving the least serious thinking '€” just add a bylaw (although closing down clubs entirely would have been even easier, so I'€™m slightly surprised they didn'€™t plump for that option).

The only ones who will suffer in the end are the tourism and gastronomy industries '€” not drug dealers. Why not set the curfew at 10 p.m. '€” shouldn'€™t everyone be asleep then anyway?

Palm

Any pretensions that Jakarta has about becoming a leading world city are sorely misplaced. This ruling, if enforced, will kill Jakarta'€™s entertainment industry.

Most clubs only start to get going after midnight. To close them at that time is absurd.

TD

The clubs have to be closed in order for lawmakers to hold private parties.

Simba

Laws are merely clown masks used to distract the populace. Once those in power have taken enough bribes, this bylaw will quietly be dropped.

Hartono

What is left to do for you if you are young and not dirty rich in Jakarta? Can'€™t go for a drink, can'€™t discuss the existence of God, can'€™t go dating with your girlfriend.

Odez

Midnight? Clubs begin in earnest just after midnight, and go on till the morning light.

Robby Kaware

Technically, if it has to close at midnight, nothing says that it can'€™t open an hour later.

Orang Biasa

Indonesia should have closed down nightclubs years ago. How is it only now that the authorities are waking up to this problem?

Japan Rock

The corruption in Indonesia hangs heavier in the air than the haze and smoke from the fires.

Skizziksi

Perhaps the owners of five-star hotels are behind this? If all bars and nightclubs are closed, the five-star hotels will be the only places allowed to operate, serve drinks, play music, etc.

Tens of billions of rupiah, perhaps hundreds of billions. Please put an investigative journalist on this story and follow the money.

Indowatcher

And we all know who own or have shares in five-star hotels.

Fred Frogley

Great idea, remove the clubbing scene from Jakarta; Jakartans can remain entertained by the malls, traffic and heat.

And of course, making sure the clubs close at midnight must be the priority, before providing proper infrastructure such as better roads, proper waste management, decent public transportation etc.

Thanks to the city council for working so hard to make Jakarta a better city for all.

Benam

A guy named Taufik making rules on bars says it all. Talk about biased! He pontificates like an autocrat. Ahok must fire these obscure men.

Abdul Malik

I don'€™t think Ahok can fire him. He is not a council employee but an elected city councilor. Ask the good folk of Jakarta why they voted for him.

Terry McAsee