There are some negative social stigma and perception in my country in mentioning night life and became a controversy from many years has past and maybe in some future years ahead. Although as officially, the Government of Indonesia has issuing some regulation that prohibits a “certain activities” of nightlife, there is no strict law enforcement to execute the said regulation. Furthermore, a lot of people or even the Government itself, has taking an advantages to the existence of nightlife-activities, i.e. tax, economic impact especially in informal sector or any other social impact, legally or not legally. The Government also has learnt the successful of the Government of nearest country which successfully organizing and legalizing the night-life activities and could bring the positive impact to the economy and social life of the nation.
As been said above that the primary advantages of the existence of nightlife are its positive impact to the economy. The nightlife-activities centre could be organized as a profitable business activities in term of restaurants, bars, and music entertainment, developed to become a tourism object, and could provide many job-opportunities to decrease unemployment rate, and at the end of the story: there is a huge tax paid by the nightlife-industries which makes a strong impact to the economic of the nation.
By legalizing nightlife activities, there are some social advantages raised and some specific society problems, which are closely related to the nightlife activities, decreased. Firstly, it makes a monitoring and preventing some specific diseases more easily and effectively, by putting the usage of condoms, vaccine, medical examinations and health programs into obligation to people work in some nightlife activities. Secondly, the government could also put the nightlife activities which are closely related to illegal-workers with no social or health protection, into a very effective control. By doing so, the government could provide some social protection, human rights aspect, also giving a health protection to the worker. Thirdly, it could also prevent the exploitation of people’s underage or certain woman that has put into some compulsory action before they worked in this industry. Moreover, children will not be allowed even just passing by the nightlife localization.
Legalizing nightlife and localizing in some certain and appropriate place could also bring a positive impact in security’s matters in which the ability to control a spreading of forbidden drugs and illegal activities by closely check most of people involved in the industry.
There is a need for the Government to form some specific law and regulation to legalize and localize the nightlife activities. For example, in Netherlands and Malaysia, the location should be built in some certain area which is far from public places, such as business centre, school, and religious places, and should be closed during national holiday and religion’s day. The nightlife workers should has minimum 21 years old, routinely checking and maintains their health especially who involved in prostitution, definitely could not allowed using or bringing illegal drugs. The collided of that regulation will bring the effect of prohibition or even closing the nightlife centre.
Some successful examples in controlling and legalizing nightlife activities is Montreal State in North America which successfully maximizing the professional service of restaurants and after-hours club which is open into morning, supported by the large university population nearby, excellent public transportation system, and Montreal’s culture that make the city's nightlife unique and put into the fourth after-hours life (3 to 11 a.m.) in the world.
As a conclusion, since it is a normal social activities and there always be a need for it, the nightlife activities need to be legalized, localized and put into heavily control to create some abundance advantages from it. But there is a need to the Government to form a law and regulation to make it possible and executable.
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