Distributors urged to withdraw liquor from supermarkets

JAKARTA (JP): A City councilor from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction yesterday urged distributors to withdraw liquor from supermarket outlets so they do not suffer a great loss.

Romulus Sihombing said distributors should sell liquor at government-appointed places, such as hotels, bars and restaurants.

"If they (distributors) don't withdraw it from supermarkets, they will suffer great loss when the merchandise is confiscated by the authorities," Sihombing said.

According to the newly-issued presidential decree on alcohol sales, only category A drinks, those with an ethanol content of up to 5 percent, would still be available in supermarkets.

However, some supermarkets still sell liquor with an ethanol content of more than 5 percent.

The head of the entertainment division of the city public order office, Toha Reno, said yesterday his office had seized a crate of imported alcohol with a 7 percent ethanol content from a supermarket on Jl. Gadjah Mada.

"The imported liquor bears Ministry of Health stickers," Toha said yesterday.

He said that according to the Minister of Health's regulation on liquor distribution, imported beverages with an ethanol content above 5 percent cannot be sold in supermarkets.

"The Ministry of Health should be consistent in issuing permits for allowing the selling of imported liquor in supermarkets," Toha said, "It's against its own minister's regulation."

He said that since April 1996 the city public order office had confiscated 23,664 bottles of liquor from supermarkets, and other places. "From this number, 4,302 bottles are imported and bear the Ministry's stickers," Toha said.

Other councilor, Sugiat As of the Golkar faction, said the Ministry of Home Affairs should set a quota for the production, distribution and sales of liquor.

He said the city administration could help set the quota by calculating the quantity of liquor needed for certain establishments here, such as restaurants or hotels.

"Without the quota, the presidential decree means nothing," Sugiat said.

Sihombing seconded this by saying the quota could be effective if the government and the city administration regularly supervised its implementation.

However, he said the quota did have loopholes. For instance, the distributors or producers could manipulate it through collusion with officials, he said.

"Serious supervision can prevent such collusion," Sihombing said.

The presidential decree regulates production, distribution, sales, quality standards and tax on alcoholic beverages.

It defines alcoholic beverages as those which contain ethanol and are produced through the fermentation or distillation of carbohydrate substances.

The alcohol level of the drinks is divided into three categories; A, which includes drinks with a content of up to 5 percent of ethanol, B from 5 percent to 20 percent and C from 20 percent to 55 percent.

The selling of B and C category liquor is to be confined to licensed premises like hotels, bars, restaurants and other outlets appointed by the local regent, mayor or governor. All sales should be far from places of worship, schools and hospitals. (11/ste)