A touchy dilemma

As could be expected, the government's plan announced earlier this week to introduce tougher controls on the sale and production of liquor has been greeted with opposition from Moslem community leaders. Given the present situation in which the sale and consumption of alcohol have almost no official control, one might think this rather odd. The step should have been welcomed as timely.

As things are at present, its overwhelmingly large Moslem population notwithstanding, Indonesia could perhaps pass as the freest country in the world where the sale of alcohol is concerned. Cheap liquor can be bought by almost anyone, even at small roadside stalls in most cities. Most licensed outlets omit putting up warning signs that sales to minors are prohibited. Police reports, meanwhile, seem to highlight the general belief that the free availability of alcohol contributes to the high crime rate in Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia.

To Moslems, however, alcohol is haram and strictly off limits, and thus nothing short of a total prohibition will suffice. Last year the Jakarta city administration was compelled to shelve similar plans after its decision met with tough opposition from the country's Moslem leaders. The argument was, and is, that while some limits are better than none, the problem with controls is that their strict imposition is hard to assure. Loopholes for abuse will always be present. A total ban would be much easier to enforce. Besides, the free availability of alcohol, especially in the cities, has worried not only Moslems. Many community leaders, Moslem and non-Moslem alike, have since called for a tougher control on the sale of liquor.

But the problem is that in many areas in Indonesia, particularly the tourist destinations, liquor is a major source of revenue for local administrations and a ban on its sales could have an adverse effect on development in those regions. Willing as the government may be to appease the majority of Indonesians, the choice is not an easy one to make. In addition, many non- Moslem Indonesians might resent a blanket prohibition that would restrict the availability of alcoholic beverages to foreigners only -- as some Moslem leaders seem to wish.

Thus the recent government assurance that alcoholic beverages would in the near future be available -- under strict control -- in government-authorized outlets only. Although further details have not as yet been made public, the new decree will provide guidelines for the implementation of a presidential decree issued last month to place the sale of beverages with alcohol contents of between five and fifty-five percent under strict government supervision. Aside from sales, the decree also aims to regulate aspects of production, quality standard, distribution, sales and taxation.

Since it is unlikely that a presidential decree will be withdrawn once it has been issued, it appears that the plan for the controlled sale of liquor will go ahead as intended. Nevertheless we believe it would be advisable for the authorities to tread with care and wisdom. We don't want the present peace to be upset by a public argument that could be settled by reason and dialog in the best of our cherished traditions.