Ideas: A long history of the controversial but profitable industry

"Marina Bay Sands Batam opens for business in Indonesia, they finally opening their first biggest Casinos in Southeast Asia on Batam Island. Following the recent success from trump entertainment and thousand islands non stop entertainment." ---- Online news somewhere in the future

 

The headline is just a teaser, that's why I just stated it just somewhere in the future. The long story and controversy of an industry that can make up our Country paid their bill and duty to the civilians. An industry that is so sensitive to majority of people in this country, and I am one of those of major people concerning in the religion matters, and by the way it is an entertainment industry more specifically in gambling industry. The gambling industry literally is there on our environment and it become a habit in some culture in Indonesia but of course there are no good management team, income from tax, and good corporate governance involve in this low class gambling, and even the high class gambling even that we cant see it through our own eyes there is fact that it is illegal and of course no income from taxes or any retribution paid to our government.

Instead of legal income, there are too many bad influences according to the spread of the illegal gambling operation, operated by illegal management and dealer. Imagine there is an open area, some place like Las Vegas, Monaco, Macau, or even Genting. they called themselves an entertainment city, that is their branding. So when visitor come by there, they just want to have fun by gambling and of course there are strict rules and obligation they have to obey as a visitor. The good things from those city is they completely legal with support from the local government, even in a place like genting still there is many organization against them but it all runs well, again because it localization, separated from mainland, and great aim from market segmentation which is local non Muslim and Indonesian people who want to throw their money to neighborhood country.

The voice to legalized gambling is already occurs since years ago but no progress in the implementation because the word gambling itself is already a total controversial issues in this religious country, so there are more against voices than pro. Just an imagination If we see it at the other side, the legalized gambling industry in the perfect place localization such as early proposed thousand island and batam island, the right market, and the strict policy and back up from the government will create a massive fresh money to fund the infrastructure that most public needed came from the high taxation policy and also it will create the flow of business through another industry involved besides Labors also have their job to do. The hospitality, trading, property, industry will be the support business for the gambling demand, then again fortunately it create money to our government, instead of doing debt policy to other country or selling country obligation. This way also Indonesia will be the next tourist destination for foreigners and more over it can attract them to invest their money to become hot money in this country.

Well then again it just a vivid imagination, we have to wake up now and see the truth and how can it be solved. The fact is Indonesia is having too many potential resources to grow in the tourism industry; we have a lot of hidden jewel that create the opportunity to open the business. That resource is the key to our future plans to entertainment industry, but without gambling involved. Even without gambling, we can create the local and foreigners tourist attraction that can come up to our income and also keep up our foreign exchange reserve. MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) will be the most contributor to the tourism and hospitality industry instead of using gambling as the main attraction. It all begins with positive attitude to create businesses that empower the people within and the impact is the income for business shareholders, environment, and the prosperous Republic of Indonesia.

 

 

Source : harianbatampos.com, MI, Wikipedia, antaranews, detikcom

 

 

Disclaimer : this is only the humble opinion from the writers, and the writers respect all of the religious aspect in the country holds :)

Insight : the Rally in Between ( a perspective from Indonesia about European financial crisis )

"while many European countries are struggling to avoid slipping back into recession, being dragged down by deepening debt crisis in the euro zone, one of the main problems facing the Indonesian Economy appears to be how to avoid growing too far, too fast"

-Josh Franken, Oxford business group (Jakarta post)

 

One of the interesting news these newly days consisting about how European countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy facing much of problem concerning their debt crisis, higher unemployment rate, and deficit in GDP. While uncertainty is everywhere, It leads to great loss of the exchange rate of Euro to US Dollar, also the stock market is crashing everywhere, and the downgrade decision by S&P and fitch rating for Spain and Greece is worsening the case. The bail out for Greece come from European Union and IMF cost $1billion making a huge negative sentiment on the market, even country like Germany wont do any good to help Greece.

Wikipedia describe this thing as a late-2000 recession, it is an economic recession that began in the US and spreading to the industrialized world. It cause real problems to the social environment also in the developed countries. But for some reason, Asia's market looking very sharp and show the strength in the world economy contribution. The reason is developing countries are moving too fast while developed countries moving too slow, this create a differences in each leading countries like China, India. And of course Indonesia. The growing economy in Indonesia make we so called resistance-to-crisis countries by some countries, because when the US fall on 2008, until now Indonesia is one of the most countries that still create growth, not only in the financial sector but also on the real sector.

The indicator shows the good mark, let see the when the local automotive industry association (GAIKINDO) report that the vehicle sales in the beginning year 2010 has increased 78% over the last year 2009, and the GDP of Indonesia maintain 5,7% on year, not forget to mention that we have the fastest growing stock market (IHSG) throughout region since the 2008 crisis. While many countries suffering loss, so then investor finally leave them and find another place to grow their money, this is why we have a lot of hot money come from foreign buy that can crash anytime when we can't gain their trust to the economy, also on the real sector foreign direct investment showing great number that increasing 42% from last year.

The fact that Indonesia is a still commodity based countries who needs a buyer to buy our top commodities like oil, cpo, coffee, fish, cacao, and coal, we also get the impact of suffering, the trade on the export to European is decreasing but still at the tolerance level, but the demands is increasing on the regional market, showing a great proof of Asia's growth, it all occurs while the government don't have any clue from the rush of the imported goods from China.

History speaking, after the great recession on 1930's and the world war era, most of the countries are broke to paid the bill that uncounted, but finally they overcome the problem and becoming the strength on the world's economy. In Indonesia we already facing the crisis back in the 1998 also it happens in most Asia, now turns out that the condition is like flip and flop, up and down. Now the question is, Are we really facing the new era of economic, where now Asia's developing countries will come to contribute most of world GDP? Or, are we going into a trap, that looks like a bubbles when we run to fast that we blurred our eyes and finally crash like them?

 

Rianhafizblog2010

 

 

Source : Jakarta Post paper, Wikipedia, Kontan daily newspaper, globe asia