R

egional administrations across the archipelago have taken different approaches to regulating the operation of nightspots during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan.

Most areas, particularly in Muslim-majority cities, have imposed a blanket month-long ban on the operation of nighttime recreation centers. In other cities, however, more lenient policies have been implemented, with venues given the opportunity to continue operating, albeit with reduced or limited opening hours.

Regions that have imposed blanket bans on the operation of bars, nightclubs, karaoke parlors and similar spots over the course of Ramadhan include Medan in North Sumatra, Padang in West Sumatra, Pekanbaru in Riau, Palu in Central Sulawesi, Makassar in South Sulawesi and cities and regencies throughout Gorontalo province.

Meanwhile, regions allowing the continued operation of nighttime entertainment spots include Batam in Riau Islands, Banyumas and Semarang in Central Java, Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara and Manado in North Sulawesi.

The blanket bans are largely set out in circulars issued by the mayors of the respective cities; one exception is Makassar, where the prohibition is regulated in City Bylaw No. 5/2011 on tourism business licensing. In Gorontalo, meanwhile, the regulation is stipulated in a circular issued by the provincial governor.

Similarly, regulations stipulating reduced or limited operational hours for venues are set out in circulars issued by mayors of the cities allowing them to continue to operate.

A special case is Banyumas. While operators of local nightlife recreation centers in the regency are allowed to operate with limited operational hours during Ramadhan this year, a complete ban on their operation is to be imposed next year.

“[Nightspots] can still operate during Ramadhan this year, but there is a general commitment among all stakeholders here that the centers will completely stop operating during Ramadhan next year. We’ll stick with this commitment and take action against any violations,” Banyumas Regent Achmad Husein said on Thursday.

He added that it had taken several years for all stakeholders to agree to the common commitment.

One commonality has emerged among those regions that have banned nighttime entertainment and those that have not, namely a strong and united emphasis on the importance of local police forces preventing any mass organizations from conducting raids on nightspots operating over the course of the fasting month.

“If the general public has any complaints regarding the operation of nighttime entertainment venues, those complaints should be conveyed to us; we will then take action against the venue in question, in cooperation with the Public Order Agency [Satpol PP],” Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Mardiaz Kusin Dwihananto told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Residents have had mixed reactions to the closure of nighttime entertainment spots in the wake of the localized bans. In Palu, for example, residents have, since the beginning of Ramadhan earlier this week, every night thronged the city’s numerous coffee houses.

“It’s such a perfect place to hang out at night. You can drink coffee and while away the night, waiting for sahur [pre-dawn meal],” said Ashar Yahya, a local Palu resident, as he sipped a cup of coffee at a cafe on Palu’s Jl. Masjid Raya on Wednesday evening.

Similar views were espoused in Makassar, where coffee shops hummed with activity in the early hours before sahur time.
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— Rizal Harahap, Lita Aruperes, Suherdjoko, Syamsul Huda M. Suhari, Syofiardi Bachyoel Jb, Fadli and Ruslan Sangadji contributed to this article.