HO CHI MINH CITY - MUSIC blasts from behind the glass doors of the small rooms at Style Karaoke, a plush club where groups of Vietnam's come to gather to sing and, as the rhythm takes hold, to dance.
Not right to ban dancing
'It's not right to ban us from dancing in karaoke clubs,' said one K-T customer. 'Maybe they should ban dance bars where they have prostitutes. If they just make a general ban on dancing in karaokes, it's not reasonable.'
Khanh, the K-T worker, said karaoke was a popular form of entertainment and a ban on dancing would be 'a bit strange' for customers trying to relax.
And that, the communist government says, is the problem. It wants to ban dancing at karaoke bars in what reports have said is a bid to limit drug use.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism posted the proposed ban on its website last month and invited public comment on the move, its latest attempt to clamp down on lawlessness at the popular singing venues.
But at Style and other neon-lit clubs on Su Van Hanh street, the proposal is dismissed as unworkable.
'I think it's not feasible because these people who go to karaoke want to relieve their stress,' says Dang Duy Thanh, the manager of Style.
Le Anh Tuyen, head of the culture ministry's legal department, reportedly sees things differently. He was quoted by the VietnamNet news website last month as saying the drug ecstasy would be used in karaoke rooms if dancing was not banned.
'Ecstasy always goes with wine and music,' he said. 'In my opinion, karaoke is a cultural activity which is always latent with social evils.'
Tuyen told VietnamNet the government has statistics about the use of ecstasy at karaoke bars, but the report gave no data.
'I'm sure the real number of cases is higher than in our statistics. Evils will not be prevented without banning dancing,' he was quoted as saying. 'In our country, karaoke often goes with ecstasy and prostitution.' Karaoke workers on Su Van Hanh street said ecstasy could be found in some clubs - but not theirs.
'It is not karaoke with what we call 'social evils'.' Clubs in other parts of the city might be more prone to vice, he said. -- AFP
