Gus Lilur Hopes Government Issues Fair Policy on Illegal Cigarette Issue

Jakarta, VIVA – Tobacco entrepreneur HRM Khalilur R Abdullah Sahlawiy, or Gus Lilur, assesses that the issue of illegal cigarettes and excise tax governance will not be resolved without policy changes. Madura tobacco farmers, he says, are now pushing for three strategic steps that the central government must take immediately.

These three demands are formulated as the TRITURA of Madura Tobacco Farmers.

According to him, the current industry conditions show that a purely enforcement approach is not enough. Policy steps are needed that can address the root problems on the ground.

“If it’s only enforcement, this problem won’t be solved. There must be a policy solution that opens the way for people’s business actors and tobacco farmers,” said Gus Lilur in a written statement on Thursday, 16 April 2026.

He explained that the illegal cigarette issue must be resolved through a transformative approach, not merely repressive. He also firmly invites and urges tobacco entrepreneurs who have been on the illegal path to switch to becoming legal business actors.

According to him, many small business actors are in a difficult position due to limited access to enter the legal system, both in terms of costs and procedures.

“This is not just about enforcement, but also about change. Illegal cigarette entrepreneurs must dare to switch to legal, and the state must open the way,” he said.

The second demand, he continued, is the acceleration of the realisation of special excise policies for people’s cigarettes that were previously promised by the Minister of Finance.

Gus Lilur emphasised that this promise must be immediately fulfilled as a form of the state’s support for small business actors and tobacco farmers.

“We have heard the commitment from the Minister of Finance regarding people’s cigarette excise. Now is the time to realise it. Don’t let it drag on,” he asserted.

He even encouraged that this policy could be realised at the latest within the next month, considering the increasingly urgent conditions on the ground.

According to him, without fairer and more adaptive excise policies, small business actors will continue to struggle to enter the legal path.

“If this is not issued soon, the illegal cigarette problem will keep recurring. But if the people’s cigarette excise is present, this will become a real solution,” he said.