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.