Moslems protest liquor regulation

BOGOR, West Java (JP): More than 500 Moslems attended over the weekend a mass prayer session at the Al-Huda mosque in the Timah Kelapa housing complex of Cimanggis, Bogor, to protest a provincial regulation on alcohol distribution fees.

The gathering, held under the theme of "Liquor and the Decadence of the Young Generation," heard a single speech given by Habib Abubakar Al-Habsyi, a local Moslem leader.

"The revenues to be derived from the liquor distribution fees will be very small, while the punishment in hell later on will be very painful," Habib Abubakar said.

He supported his point by citing the moral decadence of other foreign countries brought on by the sale of liquor.

Habib urged the chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, Hasan Basri, and Minister of Home Affairs Yogie S. Memed to not ratify the provincial regulation, arguing that enforcing the ruling would amount to the legalization of liquor distribution.

Separately, Abdullah Muadz, who sponsored the mass prayer, said that the gathering was held to express strong objection to the regulation.

"This mass prayer gathering is a courteous demonstration of our rejection of the regulation," he said.

Abdullah expressed great concern that the new ruling might expand the sales of liquor. (21/26)