Indonesians and drinks

Indonesians and drinks

With due respect to the chairman of the Indonesian Council of
Ulemas, Hasan Basri, who was recently interviewed by The Jakarta
Post on the ongoing problem of wines and spirits, and who
suggested that the consumption of liquor should be permitted to
foreigners only, I would like to bring to attention that such a
suggestion could raise ill will in certain communities of the
archipelago. (The Jakarta Post, Nov. 14, 1996: Serve alcoholic
drinks to foreigners only).

In Christian communities, for instance, wine -- especially red
wine -- has a religious connotation during Easter, and there are
other holy events in which this drink must be served. The
suggestion brought up in the article could have much wider
implications if the respective authorities were to seriously
translate it into practice.

While I cannot deny the problem of alcohol-consuming
youngsters in the country, we should not put the blame entirely
on alcoholic beverages. Rather, we should ask ourselves why
youngsters cannot keep away from liquor these days. There is no
cut and dried solution to the problem, like the suggested alcohol
ban for Indonesians.

My father, who liked his daily drink, never had to resort to
threats to keep us away from booze when we reached the teenage
stage. He did not have to. Although there were no restraints, not
one in this old-fashioned family would contemplate going on a
drinking spree. It does not work that way.

Obviously, there is something else, a dark need maybe, that
drives today's youngsters to drugs and abusive alcohol use.
Someone who is content and happy does not need hard liquor to
raise his or her spirits.

In this case, I tend to side with Mr. Subagio from East Java,
whose suggestion to revive old-fashioned parental attention could
be the first serious step to an alcohol and drug-free nation.

HETTY M. FREDERIK

Jakarta