Yan Kusuma – The chairperson of the Islamic mass organisation Muhammadiyah's Central Board, Dadang Kahmad, has condemned the attitude of law enforcement officials who are seen as being discriminatory in their treatment of the general public and celebrities involved in the promotion of online gambling.
According to Kahmad, injustice in law enforcement will actually result in online gambling practices growing in Indonesia.
"As long as there is still discriminatory treatment like this, law enforcement will not be effective, and the practice of online gambling will become more widespread. Muhammadiyah deeply regrets and condemns the unfair legal treatment of perpetrators of online gambling promotions", Kahmad said in a written statement on the PP Muhammadiyah's official website on Saturday November 9.
Kahmad believes that the rampant promotion of online gambling is a flow on from the weakness and indecisive action of the government against people promoting online gambling, especially celebrities. He also alluded to the influence of powerful officials who are involved in the online gambling industry in the country.
"If crimes like this are left without firm action, the practice of online gambling will become more rampant, especially with the existence of the ruling parties that are involved", he explained.
As well as encouraging the government to play a role, Kahmad also appealed to civil society to participate in making the public aware of the dangers of online gambling, both in terms of religion and the physical and financial threats for the community.
"We as civil society also urge the government to act decisively against the promotion of online gambling, because this violates the values of religion, state law, and it endangers the community", he said.
Earlier, a celebrity and member of the House of Representatives (DPR) from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Denny Cagur, came under the public spotlight after a video showing him promoting an online gambling site went viral on social media.
Cagur claimed that the promotion was carried out without fully knowing that the site was operating as an online gambling platform after being questioned by the National Police Criminal Investigations Directorate (Bareskrim) along with several other celebrities.
Despite this, up until now no celebrities have been named as suspects, while several ordinary social media account owners have been arrested on similar allegations.
Kahmad hopes that the government will immediately put an end to this legal discrimination and tighten supervision of online gambling promotions, given the detrimental impact it has on the wider community.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Muhammadiyah Kecam Sikap Aparat Lakukan Diskriminatif di Kasus Promosi Judi Online oleh Artis".]
