Control of liquor sales to be tightened: Sujudi

Control of liquor sales to be tightened: Sujudi

JAKARTA (JP): The government will tighten the control of liquor distribution and will restrict the sale of liquor to specified outlets such as international hotels and duty-free shops, Health Minister Sujudi said yesterday.

"Ordinary stores, let alone cigarette stalls, will be prohibited from selling alcoholic drinks," Sujudi told journalists after formally appointing several new officials in his ministry.

The minister's remarks come only days after a private company, PT Arbamass Multi Invesco, claimed that it had been authorized by the ministry of home affairs to control liquor sales through a compulsory labeling system.

Arbamass, owned jointly by Emir Baramuli and Ari Sigit Soeharto, announced last week that it would cooperate with the various provincial administrations to control liquor sales in order to protect the young generation from the bad influence of alcohol.

Under the proposed cooperation, Emir said, liquor for sale will bear stickers, issued by PT Arbamass. According to the amount appearing on the stickers, the sale will be subject to levy ranging from Rp 600 to Rp 750 per bottle/can, depending on the alcoholic content of the drinks.

Health Minister Sujudi said he had not been notified of the private company's plan.

Liquor sales in Indonesia, whose population is predominantly Moslem, are already strictly controlled. Only two state companies are permitted to import the substance, which is subject to duties of between 40 and 170 percent, in addition to a 35 percent luxury sales tax, a 10 percent value-added tax and heavy excise taxes.

"The ministries of health, industry and trade are now reviewing the system of liquor production and sales," Sujudi said.

He said those ministries were considering tightly restricting domestic production of alcohol drinks.

"Domestic producers, many of them illegal, often do not care about the quality of their liquor and do not care about the impact of such inferior-quality alcoholic drinks on customers," Sujudi said.

Producers, he added, tout their liquor through small stores, including cigarette stalls, and quite a number of the buyers are college students and other youngsters who like to get drunk.

"I therefore fully support the stern measures being taken by security officials against illegal liquor sellers," Sujudi said.(vin)