Karaoke boxes in arcades shut down

Rows of K-Boxes showed that the entertainment was popular among the Bruneians. Picture: BT/Harny Abu Khair

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Department has ordered the closure of all karaoke boxes (k-boxes) at family arcades in shopping malls.

The department issued the directive earlier this month, but two arcade operators said they have sent an appeal to the authorities.

When The Brunei Times checked the k-boxes at four arcades incommercial areas, operators had placed barriers such as stacked chairs, or a ladder to inform the public the k-boxes at their outlets are closed.

Members of the public were visibly perplexed when they saw all the machines in the booths had been switched off, and were told that the k-boxes were closed.

K-boxes are a row of booths with a karaoke machine and can accommodate one to three persons at one time.

A manager at a family arcade at The Mall said k-boxes were popular among Bruneians who sing to unwind after a hectic day at work with family and friends.

“We have all types of customers coming just to sing in k-boxes. Some came with family members, others with friends and a few customers are husband and wife,” said the manager, who declined to be named.

The manager added that due to their popularity, the management last year decided to upgrade allkaraoke machines to updated versions, and improved the interior of the boxes.

One of the important features that they improved was to install larger glass windows to ensure there would be no hanky-panky in each box.

“Because the majority of our customers are youth, our staff do regular checks by monitoring the booths to ensure they are only there to sing, socialise with each other and not doing any immoral acts,” said the manager.

The manager added that they came up with their own initiative last month by not allowing males and females to be in the same box. They also checked that couples who wanted to use k-box were married by asking for their marriage licences.

“Unless they are husband and wife or family members, then they are not allowed to be in one room together. It is our way to be Syariah-compliant but at the same time not stopping people to sing in the k-box,” said the manager.

According to the manager, they were shocked when they received the directive to close all their k-boxes especially when their business (arcade) licence is valid until 2018.

“Apart from the licence, we also need to pay $100 tax for each game and k-box in our arcade. For a 20 k-boxes at one outlet, it means we paid $2,000 annually for the tax for one outlet,” said the manager.

The manager added that if were to dismantle the k-boxes permanently, they have to find other games to fill the space.

“The closure does affect our revenues as they are very popular. We may have to resort to a retrenchment as we are not making enough money,” said the manager.

A manager at another arcade said they were shocked when two officers from the BSB Municipal Department visited their outlet two weeks ago and ordered them to close the k-boxes immediately.

“There were people singing in the boxes and they were told to stop. We were told to reimburse the money paid to the customers to sing in the boxes,” said the manager.

The manager said they were kept in the dark of such a ruling, but complied nonetheless. Now the arcade wants to appeal to the Municipal Department to give them a grace period for at least two weeks, so that they can dismantle the boxes properly.

The karaoke machines are expensive, and they are still unsure what to do with the machines, the manager added.

“For the space, we will have to find other new games that are suitable for this family-oriented arcade,” said the manager.

Last year, all karaoke outlets in Brunei were ordered to close down, following a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Religious Affairs, including restaurants offering live band performances.

Another arcade manager questioned why there were no enforcement officers from the Municipal Department to check on their outlets last year and told them to stop operating the k-boxes.

“As such, we thought we can continue to operate the k-boxes because we are located on commercial premises and are offering family-oriented entertainment, plus since last year there was no visit from Municipal Department officers telling us to close our k-boxes,” said the manager.

The Brunei Times