We did report on Sandiago Uno’s astounding promise prior to the Jakarta election – as a result of which he’s now Deputy Governor – that he envisioned a sharia-inspired nightlife entertainment network in Jakarta.
But we merely noted it, in a post which covered all the issues that were alarming normal people.
Not that Sandiago Uno himself is in any way unprepossessing. On the contrary, he comes across as very presentable and personable!
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But now this rich, American-educated ( yes, truly!) entrepreneur has shown he’s a man of his word.
Sandiaga Uno to establish sharia tourism zone in Jakarta
Note, no question mark! This guy is serious about his plan, for the Senen area of the capital.
“I think it will be interesting if there is a religious tourism zone [in the area], which is properly arranged with tents. Hence, mobility can be ensured.”
I welcome that last sentence. Mobility – the ability to get through Senen as fast as possible – would need to be an integral part of any such scheme, as many of us encounter horrendous traffic jams there.
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I sat on a bus a month ago for nearly an hour, just waiting to get through the underpass beside the big shopping area.
But what delights would await folks who flitted in and out of Sandiago’s tents?
Many places popular with tourists who come to Jakarta feature what are invariably described as ‘sexy dancers.’
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Not just ‘dancers,’ NB, which has always made me smile, wondering if the proprietors fear that patrons would not recognise the dancers’ sexiness without being told of it!
–a–
However, I somehow doubt that the tents would accommodate any spectacle of that sort.
Sandiago previously talked of such joys as Koranic readings, but would that really draw shariah-fans to Jakarta when they can easily find THE REAL THING…
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…by taking a short flight up to Indonesia’s most northerly province, ACEH, proudly dubbed by some of its inhabitants as the ‘Verandah of Mecca,’ the ONLY province in the archipelago where shariah is enshrined in the local legal code of law.
No tedious tents required there, because the quintessence of shariah morality is displayed in the main squares…
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….young women being beaten by cowards too ashamed to show their faces, before a salivating rabble of voyeurs and fanatics.
Nor are dancers, either sexy or otherwise, a popular phenomenon up there, where such repositories of wisdom as this kindly old gent have made plain their demerits…
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…to the extent that even the graceful and utterly decorous traditional Acehnese dancing has drawn disapprobation.
Muhammad Thaib, Regent of North Aceh has banned all adult women from dancing when welcoming guests in North Aceh, adding that only children should perform the tradition.
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Thaib
“… cultural preservation should not damage Islamic Shariah values, such as dancing performed by adult women.”. http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/north-aceh-head-bans-women-from-dancing-in-public-2/
- ooooo
- ooooo
Nightmare stuff, yeah?
But at least we can avoid going anywhere near Aceh, and Senen.
How long normal folk can expect to find fun in Jakarta remains to be seen, however.
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Sandiago’s big boss is the Governor-elect, Anies Baswedan, seen above with the currently hard-to-get –Police Add FPI Leader Rizieq Shihab to Most Wanted List -‘grand imam’ of the white-shirt sectarian gang calling itself the FPI, self-styled ‘Defenders of Islam…’
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….and Anies may be tempted to listen to benighted FPI views such as that expressed in neighbouring Bekasi.
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There the local government’s Tourism Special Committee was told awhile back by the Chairman of FPI in Greater Bekasi that the Muslims in Bekasi reject the draft law on one point – it would legalize nightclubs.
And here in Jakarta itself, there have been serious calls for a shut-down of nightlife at MIDNIGHT…
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…with a senior cop having somehow decided that drug abusers are clock-watchers.
National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso has expressed his support for the Jakarta City Council in its plan to restrict the operational hours of nightclubs until 12 a.m. as stipulated in a draft bylaw on tourism.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/10/17/greater-jakarta-budi-waseso-supports-nightclub-curfew.html
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It can’t happen here?
There’s a bill going through Indonesia’s parliament which could put you in the slammer for having a beer in your front yard, or even indoors…
..and an innocent, inoffensive minority in next-door Depok is being bullied and oppressed by local government…
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…while national government doesn’t lift a finger to intervene on behalf of religious liberty?
To paraphrase the pantomime audiences of my childhood days..
OH YES IT CAN!
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FastFreddie, 
Wacka, 
Intan, 
Rawel, 
JazPen, and 5 others are discussing. 
rossrightangle 
Jim in Jakarta 21:06 on December 15, 2017 Permalink |
Oh no! Not Top Gun! How long will D’s Place last now?
Sad news but the Sportsman’s closure, its resurrection, then it closure again, made me realise the writing was on the wall for Blok M.
I stopped going to Falatehan a couple of years ago. It was a shadow of its old self even then and I heard its getting more forlorn all the time.
Those fanatics who want to replace fun palaces with sharia hotels will get some pleasure from this news but us old expats know how to get by when times and places change.
There is still plenty of fun to be had in Jakarta if you know where to look and you know as well as I do Ross, that we never have to look too far. .
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JazPen 00:37 on December 16, 2017 Permalink |
True what you say Jim.
Still.
Top Gun was good in its heyday and wont be forgotten. Same with The Club which was situated where the Losari 2 hotel is now. I think Ross told me once about a wild adventure he had that started there, girls, fanatic gangs and all.
I use to hear from older guys about another place that burned down before we got here, right beside Blok M terminal, on the north side. They use to say it was the greatest.
Afraid I cant remember its name.Can any of you?
I suppose every generation believe they saw Jakarta at its best. ,
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ross1948 20:18 on December 16, 2017 Permalink
Tambora, JazPen!
Before my time too, but many amazing yarns about that place.
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Wacka 15:09 on January 17, 2018 Permalink |
Top Gun on a Saturday was absolutely cooking 2 years ago. Great band. Last Year when I went, not so great. Where is the best classic rock live music venue in Jakarta now ?
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FastFreddie 14:55 on January 23, 2021 Permalink |
Vale TG. We had our times.
Its all gone now. Ds Bar has closed, My Bar is shut.
The heyday was in the 90s. The strip was alive, Bules splashing cash, office girls looking for fun and “taksi money”. Tambora was the place, along with places like Hotman and a place I cannot remember.
Tambora burned down. Everyone said it was an insurance job.
Krissmon started the death. The expats went home, consultants stopped visiting.
Places like Oscars and Sportman stuck around, but were zombies.
And now its all over.
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