TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Ministers split over social aid proposal for gambling disorder
A proposal last week by the senior human development minister to expand social assitance to include indebted gambling addicts has split related institutions on the best way to tackle the growing issue.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
People use smartphones on May 30, 2024 in Bogor, West Java, to access online gambling websites. (Antara/Yulius Satria Wijaya)
A
number of ministers are split in their views on a proposal to include individuals with debts due to a gambling disorder on the list of people eligible for social assistance.
The proposal to disburse social assistance through Family Hope Program (PKH) was first floated last week by Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy, following several incidents of self-destruction and crimes linked to online gambling.
“[Online gambling] makes people poor. This becomes our responsibility,” Muhadjir said, adding that people with gambling disorder could also get counseling from the Social Affairs Ministry.
The senior minister said he proposed the idea when the government was discussing a plan to establish an interministerial task force to tackle online gambling, which has become a national concern.
His proposal has stirred debate among other ministers and the general public, and Muhadjir was quick to clarify on Monday that family members would be eligible for the social aid, not those battling gambling disorder.
“It’s clear that law should be enforced against those engaging in online gambling because it is a crime. When talking about [potential] aid recipients [last week], I was referring to the family members of players, such as their children or spouses,” Muhadjir said, as quoted by Antara.
Read also: Government declares war on online gambling as toll rises
