Govt drafting decree on liquor sales
Govt drafting decree on liquor sales
JAKARTA (JP): Local alcoholics will find it almost impossible
to find drinks at roadside stalls as soon as the new home affairs
ministry decree on alcohol comes into force.
Alcoholic beverages will be available only in places
authorized by the government and their sale will be strictly
controlled, ministry spokesman HSA Yusacc said yesterday.
"You can currently see alcoholic drinks on sale in small
kiosks and roadside foodstalls all over the place," he was quoted
by Antara as saying. "When the decree comes into effect," they
will be cleared from the shelves."
The decree will be the guidelines for the Presidential Decree
on the Control of Alcohol issued last month. No firm date has
been given for its implementation.
The government has come under heavy pressure from hardline
Moslem groups who want alcohol totally banned on the grounds that
it is haram, or banned by Islamic teaching.
They argue that liquor is responsible for the rising crime
rate and loose morality of many people in the predominantly
Moslem Indonesia.
The presidential decree, consisting of six chapters and ten
articles, regulates in general terms production, quality
standards, distribution, sales and tax on alcoholic beverages.
It states that they may be made in Indonesia only with a
permit from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The alcohol level of drinks is divided into three categories;
A includes drinks with a content of up to 5 percent, B from 5
percent to 20 percent and C from 20 percent to 55 percent.
The Presidential Decree puts the production, distribution and
sale of drinks in categories B and C under close supervision.
Chapter four of the Presidential Decree states that alcoholic
drinks may be sold only in licensed places, such as hotels, bars,
restaurants and other places appointed by the local regent, mayor
or governor.
It says "other places" that the local government licenses to
sell alcohol should be located "far enough" from places of
worship, schools and hospitals, thereby ruling out the vast
majority of roadside foodstalls.
Yusacc said regencies with their own regulations on liquor
would have to adjust the rules to comply with the ministerial
decree.
The 15 provinces with their own regulations are North Sumatra,
Jambi, Bengkulu, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Bali, West
Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, East Timor, South Sulawesi,
Central Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, Maluku, Irian Jaya, and
Jakarta.
Jakarta has yet to have its regulation approved by the home
affairs minister due to strong objections from the local Moslem
community. (pan)