PPP faction urges public consultation on alcohol decree

JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party faction on the City Council is urging the Home Affairs Ministry to hold consultation dialogs with the public before approving a provincial decree on alcohol distribution controls.

The deputy chairman of the faction, Saud Rahman, said yesterday that the decree approved by the City Council on Sept. 4 has apparently caused unrest, especially among Moslem communities.

The faction "had to approve" the bill as it had no other choice, Saud said. However before giving its approval of the bill the faction chairman Sugiat As. SKM, said Audzubillahi Minasysyaitahoniirrojim (May Allah protect me from the condemned Satan), instead of Bismillahirahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful). "That means we expressed disagreement implicitly," Saud said.

He said it is impossible for the faction to cancel the decree because the city council had passed it as a provincial decree and it is being reviewed by the Ministry office to be approved.

"It is now the Ministry's job to approve, postpone or cancel the decree," he added.

Thousands of Moslems gathered in Matraman mosque Sunday and signed a petition urging the city administration to cancel the decree.

They said they were worried that the decree will, in the end, leave the authorities powerless to control the distribution and sale of alcohol.

However Saud said: "The decree emphasizes more the business aspects than the restrictions. Only one article in the decree mentions restrictions, while the others are about the business aspects," Saud said yesterday.

When asked why the faction also passed the bill into a provincial decree, Saud said that the faction passed it with certain notes which implied that it did not really like it.

Meanwhile, Fattommy Ansaari, a member of the ruling Golkar faction, questioned whether the protest really represented the public's view in general.

"Is it really describing the real situation? We don't know that. Maybe we should hold a referendum to know whether or not it is causing public unrest," Fatommy said.

Another member of the Golkar faction, Nitra Arsyad, said that the basic problem of this matter is misinformation.

"The basic goal of this decree is to control the distribution of the beverages. I think this factor has not yet been explained to the public," he said.

Nitra said the faction is willing to hold a dialog with the public on the matter.

The decree imposes fees on the distribution of alcohol. It stipulates that permits for distributing alcohol cost Rp 10 million (US$4,347) per year. Liquor to be sold in the city must be in bottles of at least 200 cc (not 100 cc as earlier reported), a measure which councilors said is part of its efforts to discourage consumption by youngsters.

It also regulates that a label must be attached to each bottle as proof that the administration has approved the distributors' permits. The labels will also state that liquor is harmful to one's health.

The labels are to cost between Rp 400 and Rp 5,000. (yns)