The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Faction of the Serang City Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) has firmly expressed its objections to the draft regional regulation (Raperda) on tourism currently under discussion. The faction believes there are legal loopholes in the regulation that could potentially legalize nightlife activities and the sale of alcoholic beverages in the capital of Banten Province.
This sharp criticism was voiced by a member of the Serang City DPRD from the PKS Faction, Eko Sucipto. He pointed to Article 46 paragraphs (2) and (9), as well as Article 59 in the draft bill, as problematic points. According to Eko, the existence of these articles is not aligned with the development vision of Serang City, which is religious and upholds community values.
Furthermore, he assessed that these provisions contradict Article 9 letter a of the same draft bill. That article actually obligates every tourism business operator to respect religious norms, customs, culture, and local values that exist within the community.
Eko emphasized that his rejection is not merely a matter of formal regulation, but also a form of moral responsibility towards the future of the younger generation in Serang City. He reminded his legislative colleagues to be cautious in formulating policies that have a broad impact on the social fabric of society.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the PKS Faction, Erna Yuliawati, explained that this draft tourism regulation still has fundamental weaknesses as it does not yet include clear principles and objectives of implementation as a normative foundation. PKS is concerned that the implementation of these problematic articles will instead trigger new social conflicts.
As a solution, PKS reminded the regional government that Serang City already has Regional Regulation No. 11 of 2019, which definitively prohibits the operation of nightlife. Instead of creating new legal norms open to multiple interpretations, the PKS Faction urges the Serang City Government to strengthen supervisory and law enforcement functions through the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP).
