So, there’s this big shot from the Faculty of Law at the University of Indonesia, Hikmahanto Juwana, who’s all about pushing the government to dive into the idea of legalizing casinos. He thinks we should take a page out of the UAE and Malaysia’s playbook to boost our country’s foreign exchange. Quite the interesting proposal, don’t you think?
Hikmahanto, the law guru, believes that Indonesia, being mostly Muslim like the UAE, who’s currently building some massive casinos, and Malaysia, who’s had casinos since ’69, should really consider this move. He brought up these points in Bekasi on a random Saturday (because, you know, why not?). He wants the Indonesian government to open their eyes to this potential change and objectively assess three crucial aspects.
First off, we’re talking money here. The flow of cash in the gambling scene is no joke, especially with online gambling in countries like Cambodia and Myanmar. According to the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), it’s a whole lot of money involved. Secondly, can our supposedly devout Muslim population really stay away from gambling? Turns out, not really, according to Hikmahanto.
The third point on his list is all about law enforcement. Indonesia has had its fair share of struggles with this, especially when trying to crack down on online gambling corporations operating from Cambodia and Myanmar, where gambling is totally legal. So, after assessing these three points, if it turns out that legalizing casinos is the way to go, it might just happen in specific areas like the Genting Economic Zone in Malaysia or even in Singapore. But hey, if folks in Singapore want to gamble there, they better be ready to play by the rules. Just saying.
Hikmahanto, the International Economics and Geopolitics expert, points out that Indonesia may be a Muslim-majority country, but gambling is still pretty popular. Back in the day, during Ali Sadikin’s time as Jakarta’s Governor, gambling was actually legalized. Remember Porkas and SDSB? Yeah, those were kind of like early forms of what we’re talking about here. But now, it’s all about localizing it and using the generated taxes for, well, things that don’t cross certain boundaries, if you catch my drift.
He also mentions how the UAE banned gambling but set up casinos in special economic zones. If Indonesia ever decides to go down that road, the government better be ready to tackle online gambling head-on to protect the little guys. It’s been a tough ride hearing about folks working in shady online gambling businesses getting mistreated in Cambodia and such. We can’t just sit back and watch that happen, right?
