Debate over liquor
Debate over liquor
As may have been expected, a new provincial decree to control
and restrict the sale of liquor has been passed by the Jakarta
City Council and is now awaiting approval from the minister of
home affairs before becoming law. The new decree is to replace
one passed in 1971 that is now considered inadequate for
controlling the free sale of alcohol or for increasing the city's
revenue. Compared to the old ruling, the new decree contains a
number of stipulations which seem to assure a greater efficacy in
both respects.
Whereas previously, sales taxes were the only source of
revenue for the city treasury, the new ruling also imposes
license fees of Rp 10 million (US$4,347.80) a year on
distributors. Alcohol permitted for sale will be limited to
beverages with a maximum alcohol content of 55 percent and must
be contained in bottles with a minimum size of 200cc. Labels must
be attached to each bottle sold to signify official approval of
the distributor's permit and to warn consumers of the health
hazards connected with alcohol consumption. Aside from
controlling the sales of alcohol, especially to minors, the new
regulation is also expected to increase the city's revenues by
generating some Rp 19.8 billion a year.
As we remarked in this column a few months ago, efforts to
control the sale and distribution of alcohol are nothing to be
surprised about. Indonesia, after all, has the largest Moslem
population in the world. But even in most western countries where
the consumption of such beverages is entirely accepted, the sale
of alcohol is regulated and its sale to minors is strictly
forbidden. The city administration's efforts in this respect are
therefore entirely acceptable. In fact, one might wonder why it
has taken the authorities so long to come up with such
restrictions.
What may seem rather unexpected in light of all this is the
fact that the passing of the draft decree by the city legislature
has drawn so much criticism, particularly from Moslem leaders and
organizations. In Jakarta and in nearby Bogor, hundreds of
Moslems have protested the new regulation. In the West Javanese
provincial capital of Bandung, the Moslem-based United
Development Party faction in the provincial legislature has
proposed that the provincial administration withdraw a similar
proposed draft decree and submit instead a draft decree
prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the province.
From the protesters' point of view, endorsing the decree would
be tantamount to legalizing the free sale and consumption of
alcohol, which is haram or prohibited by Islam. Since in this
case -- as previously in several other cases such as the SDSB
lottery debate -- matters of principle are involved, we expect
that the issue will continue to persist for some time.
We believe that in this situation, it will be prudent for the
authorities concerned to approach the issue with care. Clearly,
the city administration is entirely correct to try to control the
public sale and consumption of alcohol. On the other hand, it is
difficult to imagine how the administration can effectively ban
these beverages from metropolitan Jakarta. The thing to keep in
mind is that in this case, basic sensitivities are involved. We
hope the issue can be kept from developing into a public
irritant, particularly at this time when the general elections
are drawing closer and public sentiments could easily explode.